Lovesick
by heidipoo
Summary: When Kate Marsh and Max Caulfield meet for the first time, it's the start of a great friendship that could eventually turn into more. During their time spent together, Max causes Kate to question everything she thought she knew about life, love, the unknown, and everything else in between. AU.
1. Welcome To Blackwell

**A/N: Currently obsessed with Life Is Strange and how gay Max is for Kate. This story will probably be a lengthy one, and yes it is an AU fanfic, so that means no rewind powers for Max. I'm really excited about this fanfic, so I want it to get lots of feedback. If you have any requests/questions/concerns, just PM me and I will try to get back to you as quickly as possible. I'm getting ready to graduate high school myself, so I apologize in advance if my updates are slow. Thanks for reading!**

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It had been about a week since Maxine Caulfield had arrived at Blackwell Acadamy, and school wasn't even in session just yet. However, Max was always ahead of the game, which is why she had her parents drop her off before school started so she had time to get settled into her dorm and what not. She had spent that extra time exploring the campus, well, at least what she was allowed to explore. So far, the school was to her liking, it was spacious and looked professional. However, it had been forever since she had been to Arcadia Bay, so she had explored the town as well, learning that not much had changed here. That wasn't a surprise to Max though, because she knew that this little town wasn't capable of change.

Since she had gotten that acceptance letter in the mail, Blackwell was all that Max could think about. The school had interested her because it was an exclusive place for seniors in high school, and because of her love for photography. She had been taking pictures ever since she could remember, taking her vintage camera everywhere she went. And she couldn't wait until she began her photography classes, because Mark Jefferson was teaching them. He had been a famous photographer and artist some time ago, so it was obvious that he knew what he was doing, and Max was eager to learn.

It was day number eight that she was here at Blackwell, and school didn't start for another three days. Max had seen some other students start to arrive, but of course she didn't recognize anybody because she was new. None of them had tried to talk to her yet either. Hopefully she wouldn't have a hard time making friends here, after all, she didn't want to be lonely for her senior year in high school. Slipping out of her messy bed, she stood up and sighed as she looked around, "So much for getting settled in..." She mumbled to herself as she looked around all the clutter in her room. There were boxes and bags everywhere, strung out about the room. So far, the only thing she did unpack was her laptop, and that was only because she was a movie junkie, and her stereo, and that was only because she couldn't bear to do anything without music.

Procrastinating was something that Max did very well, but she figured that she had procrastinated long enough. She definitely wanted her room to be all fixed up before classes actually started, so she knew she had to start working on her room right away. She stretched her sore muscles, and decided to get dressed first, throwing on some jeans and a t-shirt. Grabbing her camera, she took a quick picture of herself, wanting to remember this moment; the moment that she really got settled into Blackwell Academy. Max flipped on her stereo, some indie song playing, and she cranked the volume, figuring it would be okay since not many students were here in the dorm yet. And she began sorting through the many boxes, and began unpacking her things, finding a special place for everything.

She danced around her room, humming the lyrics to whatever song was playing, and she was actually enjoying herself. Max felt that this would probably all change once school was actually in session, and the other students had arrived. She had hoped that there would be a few people here that she actually enjoyed talking to and socializing with. Max didn't like people who thought they were better than everyone else, and she didn't like bullies, in fact, she hated them. The brown haired girl had always gotten made fun of when she was younger, and that's why she had vowed to stop bullies in their tracks when she saw them being mean to someone.

Max was on her fourth box or so, when there was a barely audible knock at the door. She hadn't met anybody yet, so who in the world could that be coming to visit her? She stood up, and went to turn down her radio before going to the door to answer it. She figured she must have been looking like a hot and sweaty mess, dancing around in her room in the September heat, but she didn't care, so she opened the door anyway. It was a girl, wearing a pair of jeans and a tank top, with blonde hair piled up on top of her head and a gold cross necklace adorned around her neck. She was wearing a smile on her pretty face, but she looked so delicate and fragile. And when her brown eyes met Max's blue eyes, she was mesmerized, if only for a moment.

"Hi." The girl standing at Max's door spoke.

She sounded shy, but Max couldn't be so sure. Maybe the girl was just soft spoken or something like that. She looked nice enough, so Max decided to humor her and indulge in a conversation with her. Hell, who knows? Maybe she'd even get a friend out of this, then she wouldn't feel so alone at Blackwell. Max opened her door wider so she could get a good look at the girl, "Hello." She greeted in reply.

"Are you new to Arcadia Bay? I didn't recognize your name on the dorm assignment sheet." The girl had asked.

Max nodded, "I used to live here when I was younger, but yeah, you could say I'm new. It's been forever since I've been here." She figured that the girl had to have lived here her whole life if she knew everyone in the town. But Arcadia Bay was small, it was kind of hard not to know everyone that lived in the town. And that was not a good thing. Small towns only meant that everybody knew everybody's business, and Max didn't like nosy people to say the least.

"I'm Kate Marsh." The girl, Kate, extended her hand out for Max to shake. "Welcome to Arcadia Bay, or should I say welcome back?" She laughed slightly, causing Max to smile just a bit. "It's nice to meet you." She added. Was she looking to make a friend as well? Maybe a good friendship would blossom out of this first encounter, but Max couldn't tell, the future was so uncertain.

Max shook her hand, "Max Caulfield."

Kate sighed, "I should probably go finish unpacking my stuff, and let you get back to unpacking yours..." She trailed off, looking up at Max. "I'm right across the hall in room 222 if you need anything." She said with a light smile. "Hopefully we'll both enjoy Blackwell Academy."

"Thanks." Max replied, smiling back at Kate, and giving her a slight wave before watching her walk away and shutting her door. There was something about that girl, and Max just couldn't quite put her finger on it, so she decided to write in her journal instead.

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**A/N: To be continued...?**


	2. Significant Purpose

For the next few days, Max Caulfield was distraught and perplexed. Perplexed as to why Kate Marsh absolutely just wouldn't leave her mind, even just for a brief moment. It was clear that the girl had to have some kind of significant meaning or purpose in Max's life, or else they would have never met in the first place. She knew this because she couldn't think about anything else except for Kate's lovely brown eyes. The way they shined in pure happiness, and light. They were stuck in her mind ever since that first encounter between the two girls; those chocolate orbs and nothing else.

Since their first meeting with one another, Max had only spoken to Kate one other time, and it had been a little hasty and awkward if she was willing to admit it to herself. It was when Max was still getting her room put together and what not, and she had needed some tape to hang up her miscellaneous collection of posters and pictures that she had taken so far throughout her life. It was already a little late, but Max wasn't paying any attention to the time since classes had still not began yet. Without thinking, the brown haired girl opened up her door and headed across the hall to room 222. After all, didn't Kate say to come get her if she needed anything?

However, when Max arrived at Kate's door, she stopped in hesitation, hearing a faint sound on the other side of the door. Max honestly didn't like being nosy, but she couldn't help but to put her ear up against the wooden door to hear what the noise could be. It sounded like music, she thought, and she could also hear Kate's voice, her sweet, delicate voice, humming along to whatever was playing. It was clear she was busy, and Max was about to chicken out and just got back to her room, the tape all but forgotten now. She didn't want to interrupt Kate's night by something as stupid as asking for tape.

"No." She mumbled to herself, standing up straight., noticing the little white board next to Kate's door. It had her name written on it, with little hearts around it, and Max found it to be girlish and cute. She shook her head, getting back to the matter at hand, "You will talk to her." She spoke once more. She thought it was kind of silly to be verbally encouraging herself like that, but Max knew that she needed it. She needed that little push to make a friend, and talk to Kate. She needed to know why she felt so connected and close to this girl that she had only met days ago. She needed to know if there was some kind of significant purpose. Why did she feel so strongly for Kate Marsh?

Max knocked on the door, gently, hesitantly, afraid to disturb Kate and whatever she was doing. She could hear Kate's humming stop, and the music stop as well. She could also hear Kate's footsteps shuffling against the carpeted floor of her dorm room. When the door finally did open, Max was a bit surprised to see Kate standing there in her pajamas, with a small smile plastered on her pretty face. "Max?" She had inquired once her door was all the way open. There was a bit of confusion on her face as well, probably because it was almost near midnight, and she usually didn't get visitors during this time of night.

Max stood there feeling awkward, "Hey Kate, I hope I'm not bothering you." She started, a bit apologetically.

Kate shook her head, "You're not bothering me at all." She reassured, "You want to come in?" She asked, gesturing inside her dorm room. Max honestly wasn't sure if she should go in Kate's room or not. Would it be weird? After all, this was only the second time that they had actually even spoken to one another. She didn't want Kate to think that she was creepy or anything like that. Max wanted to make a good impression on Kate, especially if they were going to become friends, good friends at that. She didn't want the blonde to dislike her already, especially when Max already felt so tied to her.

So she stood there, weighting the pros and cons of going into Kate's room while it was close to midnight. Hell, it's not like anyone else lived in the dorm yet, the two girls practically had it to themselves until school started. "Sure, why the hell not?" Max answered, a rhetorical question escaping her lips. Kate only smiled, delighted at the fact that her friend wanted to come into her room. She opened the door wide enough so that Max could slip through.

"You can sit on the bed." Kate offered.

To say she was surprised was an understatement, Max couldn't believe how clean and tidy Kate's room was. She must have been a neat freak or something of that nature, because there was nothing in that room that was dirty. And yeah, they had just moved in, but Max's room already looked like a tornado had run through it and done its course. "Oh! You have a bunny!" Max exclaimed as she looked around the room.

Kate nodded, "Yeah, I love animals."

"And you play violin?" She inquired, spotting the violin on the bed. So that must have been the noise that she was hearing only moments ago. Kate seemed to be an interesting person so far, and Max was intrigued to say the least. They already had a few things in common, so maybe this friendship was meant to be. It sure as hell seemed that way already. "That's wicked cool." She commented.

"Do you play anything?" The blonde asked.

Max nodded as she sat on the bed, "Guitar." She hadn't played in a while though if she was being honest with herself.

"Really?" Kate inquired, "I've always wanted to learn but my family is into more classical instruments."

"Maybe I can teach you?" Max offered, knowing she just wanted more reasons to come and hang out with Kate. "Only if you wanted to." She added quickly, a slight blush complimenting her cheeks as she looked up and met Kate's chocolate orbs once more.

"Sure." Kate smiled, "I'd like that." And Max knew right then and there, that this was going to be the start of something awesome. Although she didn't know much about Kate Marsh yet, she was determined in her nature to figure more stuff out. She and Kate would be like two peas in a pod, or something like that. Max knew that she had heard that expression from someplace or another. But all similes and metaphors aside, Max knew right then and there that she wanted to be Kate's best friend, and she hoped that the other girl would reciprocate.

Max knew she'd have to come back for the tape another time, just to have another excuse to talk to Kate.


	3. Early Bird

It was the early morning when Max received a knock at her door. Classes weren't actually supposed to begin until the next day, so there was no reason she had to be up this early right just yet. When she came to from sleep, her radio was still playing that soft indie music in the background that she had put on the night before, and the sun was just peaking through her blinds at this hour. Her room was still a hot and heavy disheveled mess, because she had yet to finish unpacking everything that she had brought with her to Blackwell. Max was still quite the procrastinator, but oh well, she had plenty of time to settle into her room over the course of the school year. Didn't most teenagers have messy rooms anyway? Who was Max to break that norm?

Opening her tired blue eyes, she reached to rub the sleep out of them, and that was when a second knock could be heard. Whoever was at the door was growing quite impatient. "Coming!" She called out groggily as she finally rolled over in her small twin sized bed. Max had hoped to sleep in on this lovely sunday morning, so whoever was knocking had better be worth it, but the photographer already had a small feeling that she knew who it was. She stood up, fixed her shirt so that her stomach wasn't hanging out, and inched her way over to the door, maneuvering through boxes of miscellaneous items along the way. She was determined to finish unpacking her room tonight, even if she had to stay up late. Maybe she could get Kate to help her finish putting her things away.

When she opened the door, she didn't expect Kate Marsh to be on the other side of it. To say Max was a little shocked was an understatement, because she did not expect Kate to show up at her door at the break of dawn, this early in the morning. An apologetic smile graced her pretty face as she stood in front of Max, wearing a cute outfit, looking dressed and ready to go for the day already. "I'm so sorry Max, I didn't mean to wake you." Kate spoke with slight urgency, her brown eyes darting to Max's blue ones. Max simply didn't know what to say, she was still half asleep if she was being honest with herself. But what was Kate doing here so early? What did she want? "Sometimes it's easy to forget that I'm an early bird." She was speaking about herself, and Max couldn't help but to think her nervous demeanor was quite cute.

"It's fine." Max waived it off. "I've gotta start getting up early soon anyway, right?" She smiled back at the other girl. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she looked at Kate once more, "What did you want, Kate?" She inquired, followed by a small yawn. What could someone want at six o'clock in the morning other than to wake them up? It was no secret that Kate was an early bird, and she'd been one for the majority of her life. On the other hand though, Max was slightly relieved that she and Kate were so dependent on each other already. At least she had at least one friend for when school started tomorrow. She wouldn't feel so alone after all.

"I was hoping I could treat you to breakfast." Kate smiled a bright grin.

"Breakfast?" Max inquired.

"There's a really great diner in town, best pancakes ever." The blonde girl tried to persuade.

Max sighed, mostly to herself, and stood there weighing the pros and cons of going to breakfast with Kate. Once she was up, she couldn't go back to sleep, so she might as well get dressed and head out for the day. Plus, she had been wanting to spend more time with Kate anyway, she wanted to get to know the christian girl a little bit better. "Breakfast sound nice." Max replied. She hadn't really had a decent breakfast since she had arrived at Blackwell, but merely living off take out and microwaveable food. "Could you give me a few minutes to get dressed?" She asked, and Kate nodded in agreement.

The brown haired girl then watched as Kate walked away, and back into her room. Once she was out of sight, Max closed her door and scurried to find clean clothes to change into. When she had finally found a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, she was satisfied. After that change of clothes, she looked in the mirror to check her hair, and grimaced slightly. She looked like a hot, tired mess. Coffee would be a must have when the arrived at the diner. When she was finally ready, she grabbed her messenger bag that had her wallet, cell phone, and journal in it, and slipped it over her shoulder. Hopefully she hadn't kept Kate waiting too long.

Max walked across the hall to room 222, and knocked on Kate's door, only to have the other girl answer it seconds later. "Ready?" Kate inquired with a small smile.

"Yup." Max replied.

"You don't mind taking the bus, do you?" Kate asked, "I don't have my own car yet." She added sheepishly.

"No, it's okay. I don't have my own car yet either." Max answered as she watched Kate close and lock her door. The two girls then headed outside the girl's dorm in ample chit chat, talking about whatever came to mind until the bus would finally arrive to pick them up. Luckily, it was already such a nice day out; sun shining, and birds chirping, so Max didn't mind standing and waiting for the bus. Blackwell was such a huge school campus, and Mas hoped that when classes started tomorrow, she wouldn't get lost. She had spent her free time exploring the campus, but still, Max was never that great at directions.

"There's the bus." Kate said once she saw the bus round the corner. Hopefully this little breakfast rendezvous would be the start of a really great friendship between Max and Kate, because Max was already so enticed with the other girl. And she felt that Kate felt the same way already as well. They would become the best of friends, and Max hoped that she had some classes with Kate too. She made that a mental note to bring it up during their breakfast conversation. If they had classes together, they could spend more time together, and Max really wanted that.


	4. Breakfast With Her

The bus ride into Arcadia Bay wasn't long at all. Max and Kate sat beside each other, sharing stories and talking about life, school, family, and whatever else seemed to come up into their conversation. Kate was eager to start classes, that was apparent. Max found out many cool things about Kate, and learned that she was so easy to talk to. She had hoped that Kate found out the same about her as well. It was easy to exchange information back and forth to one another. It was right then and there when Max realized that she had already made a real good friend, and school hadn't even started yet, well, it started tomorrow, but Max didn't think that counted right now. "We're not that far." Kate said with a smile.

When they arrived at the only diner in town, Max immediately recognized it. The logo and colors were so familiar to her. She had come here to this place a lot when she was younger before she moved away. It was her family's favorite breakfast place. Kate was right, they did have the best pancakes ever. "I love this place, Kate." Max looked over at the blonde as they got off the bus and began walking up the sidewalk to the entrance.

"You've been here before?" Kate inquired as she held the door open for Max.

Max nodded, "A few times when I was younger." She replied as they walked into the diner, hearing the ding of a bell on the door. They found a booth in the way back of the place, even though the diner was relatively empty at this time in the morning. It seemed as though Kate liked having her privacy, but who wouldn't? That's why they chose a rather secluded booth, so that they could share more conversation and learn more things about each other. Since the last time that they had hung out, Max was eager to begin talking more in depth to Kate, establishing a bond with the blonde girl.

It seemed as though Kate knew where she was going and what she was doing, so Max had to only assume that she had came to the diner a lot. Maybe this place was her haven, a safe place where she could relax, her home away from home if you will. She looked comfortable here, that was for sure, and Max noticed how her fragile demeanor became more relaxed as they sat down. "This is where I sit every time I come in here." She admitted to Max, "This is my favorite place in Arcadia Bay." She added with a smile.

"So you do come here a lot." Max nodded, confirming her thoughts.

"It's just so peaceful." Kate told her. "I come here with a good book, or listen to music while I drink coffee."

"That does sound peaceful." Max agreed. In her head, she could see this place becoming she and Kate's regular hang out. Them drinking coffee together, listening to cool music, of just enjoying each other's conversation and company. However, the brunette felt that maybe she was getting a little bit ahead of herself by now, planning the friendship and what not already. Hell, she didn't even know if Kate liked her yet. A sigh escaped Max's lips, and she mentally told herself to relax. If Kate didn't like her, she wouldn't have asked to come hang out or have breakfast, right? That had to be it.

Kate nodded, "It is."

When the waitress approached their table, the two girls were more than ready to order. Max was only now realizing just how hungry she actually was. Her stomach was actually growling slightly, and she couldn't wait to just chow down on some very delicious breakfast with Kate. It had been a while since she had had a nice meal from a good restaurant. This trip to the diner was long overdue, and Max knew it. She smiled at Kate, "Gosh, I'm starving!" A laugh escaped her think lips.

Kate merely smiled up at the waitress, ready to order. "I'll have the hotcakes with two slices of bacon, and a cup of coffee please." She said politely, earning a toothy smile from the waitress.

"What about you hon?" She asked Max.

Max sighed, "I'll have an omelette with a cup of coffee as well, please and thank you." She told the waitress and watched as she scribbled something down on her little notepad. She then nodded, and walked off to place the two girls' orders. While they waited for their food to get done cooking, they engaged in more conversations with each other. "Are you excited to start classes tomorrow?" Max inquired, looking up and meeting Kate's brown eyes. She was glad they had this time to talk to one another and what not.

Kate shook her head, "Yes and no."

Max laughed lightly, "What's that mean?"

Kate laughed as well, "I'm excited for the classes, yes, but I'm pretty shy when it comes to being around other people." She admitted. "I've always been like that. My sisters are the more outgoing ones in the family." She explained to Max. "But I'm glad I've met you Max, hopefully we'll have classes together, at least I can start the year with one good friend." She smiled once more.

Max nodded, "Same here."

The waitress finally brought both of their cups of coffee, and both of their plates of food, and Max felt her stomach growl again at the smell of the cooked breakfast in front of her. She was ready to dig in. As they ate, they couldn't help but to laugh at each other, and at the awkward but comfortable silence as they chewed their food. Kate dipped her bacon in her syrup, and looked up at Max for the umpteenth time. "You know what?" She asked with a smile, "We should do this at least once a week. It would be fun, don't you think?" She inquired, taking a bite off the bacon strip.

Max nodded, "I'd love that, Kate."

When breakfast was over, they exchanged phone numbers and promises of hanging out again.


	5. Morning Ritual

The alarm buzzed and beeped loudly, bright and early at six o'clock in the morning. The sunrise was just peeking overtop the horizon, and warming the day. Despite the fact that Blackwell Academy classes didn't actually begin until eight, Kate's brown eyes fluttered open anyway, and she rolled over in her bed to shut off the loud alarm. Today was finally the day that classes were beginning, and the blonde girl was more than excited. Being the early bird she was, Kate hopped out of bed immediately, eager to start her day.

Once she was out of bed, the blonde gathered her sheets, and made her bed nice and neat like usual. When Kate was finished with that, she tidied up the rest of her already clean room, and grabbed her shower supplies. A shower would help her wake up more, so she headed out of her room, ready to shower. However, when she stepped out into the hallway, her eyes couldn't help but to drift to the room across from hers; Max's room. And she could hear poppy indie music playing softly behind the closed door. Kate debated knocking and seeing if her friend was awake, but decided against it, continuing her journey down the hallway.

The campus seemed almost alive now, with the girl's dormatory being full of different female students. Kate hadn't recognized a single soul, none of the names seemed familiar to her. Brooke, Dana, Victoria, Alyssa, Stella, and many others she didn't know. It was like the school was full of strangers, the only person Kate did know was Max, and that was only because they bonded before classes started.

Kate only shook her head, and continued down the hallway to the shower room. She decided right then and there, that she would use this school as an oppurtunity, to meet new friends, new people, and to put herself out there, if you will. It would be hard, with Kate being shy and all, but she was willing to try it. After all, the blonde wanted her last year of high school to be a good one, and she was determined to do so. Heck, it shouldn't be too hard with Max at her side and what not.

Arriving at the showers, Kate walked in, averting her gaze from a few girls already in there. They were fixing thier hair, applying lip gloss; things that Kate had never really found appealing in her life. She found an empty shower stall, and walked in, closing the thin curtain behind her. The girls in there were rambling on about how many cute guys were at Blackwell already, and Kate couldn't help but to roll her eyes.

"Have you guys seen all the hotties out there!?" One girl swooned.

"I can't wait to get my hands on those boys..." Another girl trailed off. It was typical teenage girl talk, so Kate tuned it out, and focused on washing the vanilla shampoo out of her hair. She wondered if Max was going to come and shower as well. She really couldn't stop thinking about Max at all if she was being honest with herself. Hopefully that was a good thing.

Meanwhile, while Kate was showering, Max was dancing around in her room and getting dressed for the day. The brunette had never been a morning person, but she was in a rather good and happy mood this morning. Maybe it was because she spent the whole day with her friend Kate the day before. After breakfast, the two girls had found a nearby park, and spent the day there since the weather was fair. All in all, it was a very good day.

Once Max was dressed, in a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt, she turned off her radio, and grabbed her messenger bag, throwing it over her shoulder in a hurry. She also grabbed her old poloroid camera, and stuck it in her bag as well as her journal. Her room was still messy, but that was typical Max, her version of organized was disorganized. It didn't bother her much, if she was being honest with herself. Ready to leave, she walked into the hallway, and headed straight to room 222, Kate's room, and knocked on the door. When she received no answer, the brunette was a little dissappointed, that is, until she spotted Kate leaving the shower room wrapped in a beach towel. "Morning Kate." Max greeted when Kate arrived back to her own room.

"Good morning Max." The blonde smiled in return, opening her dorm room door. "It'll only take me a few minutes to get dressed, so you can just wait here... If that's okay." She added with a small apologetic smile. Max only nodded in return and watched as Kate walked into her room and shut the door behind her. The brunette waited and waited, for about ten minutes, until Kate finally emerged from her room wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, and her wet hair pulled up into a bun. "It's supposed to be hot today." She informed, sliding her bag over her shoulder.

Max smiled and allowed Kate to walk beside her, "You in the mood for coffee this morning?" She inquired, "My first class isn't until nine." She added, looking over at Kate, pondering.

"Coffee sounds lovely." Kate replied as they walked. They made thier way out of the girl's dormatory, weaving in and out the hustle and bustle of the different students at Blackwell Academy. They seemed clustered, lost, but ready for the first day of school. Max wondered if she'd have classes with any of the students she was watching at the moment. Wanting to capture the moment, she pulled out her polaroid, and took a picture of the shuffling students. It was a good photo op, she had to admit. "You take pictures?" Kate asked.

Max nodded, "Ever since I can remember. One of the reasons I'm here at Blackwell. The photography class is being taught by a real photographer." She informed Kate as they continued thier way to the cafeteria to get coffee. "His name is Mark Jefferson, I think..." She trailed off. "But photography is my life."

Kate grabbed Max's camera, catching Max off guard, "Let's take a picture together!"

Max chuckled, "Okay." The two girls then posed beside each other, smiling, and Max snapped the picture, and shook it, waiting for the image to show. "What do you think?" She asked, handing the picture to Kate. They looked happy, radiant almost. Of course, Max had always been photogenic, but if that was the case, then Kate was a freaking model.

"We look good together!" Kate exclaimed, then handed the picture back to Max.

The brunette shook her head, "Keep it. I'm sure there will be many more to come."


	6. Coffee and Classes

Kate sipped her coffee gingerly, while taking shy glances at Max, who sipped her own coffee as well. She had no idea that the school's coffee would taste so good. She was glad though, because now she wouldn't have to go off campus to get good coffee. The cafe was relatively empty, just a few students getting coffee or breakfast. But Max and Kate had found a small table in the corner, reveling in each other's company. Kate had this aura about her, that made Max feel happy and relaxed. And Max hoped that Kate felt the same about her. "What class do you have first?" Kate inquired, breaking the silence and thoughts within the two girls.

Max pulled her class schedule out of her messenger bag, and looked at it, finding her first class of the day, "Looks like english composition." She answered, glancing back up at Kate, who was looking at her schedule as well. She hoped that they had at least a few classes together. Max wouldn't be able to bear the school year if she wasn't able to see Kate during school at all.

"Me too!" Kate exclaimed, happy that she and Max would have at least one class together. Max was thinking the same thing, and now she got to go to class every morning with Kate, and they could walk together while enjoying thier coffee. It would become a good morning ritual, and she was excited. Maybe this school year wouldn't be so bad after all.

"I wonder if we have anything else together..." Max pondered, "Can I see your schedule?" She asked, and Kate obliged, slipping the piece of paper across the small cafe table. The brunette picked it up and held it next to hers, comparing classes. "You have a lot of art classes..." She mused, looking back up at Kate. "You draw?" She inquired once more.

Kate smiled and nodded slightly, "I'm very artsy." She answered. "Singing, violin, and even a little bit of photography." She answered. She had been that way ever since she was a little girl, her parents wanted nothing but the best for Kate and her sisters, and that's why Kate dabbled around in a little bit of everything. Kate was glad that her parents did though, because now she was very talented, and knew how to do a lot of things. "I'll have to show you my work sometime." She added and smiled shyly once more.

"I'd like that." Max smiled, "And that explains why we have photography together."

"Are those the only two classes then?" Kate asked.

Max nodded, "It seems like it."

The blonde sighed, "Oh well, two classes should be enough."

"And we can always hang out out of class too." Max interjected, causing Kate to smile again. The brunette then checked her phone for the time, and found that it was nearing eight o'clock. Class didn't start until nine, but she figured she and Kate get there a bit early since it was the first day and what not. "Are you ready to go then?" Max asked, and Kate nodded. After getting another to go coffee, the two girls made thier way back to the main Blackwell academics building. Each of them were assigned lockers, and then sent on thier way.

There weren't many kids in the english class yet, so Max and Kate sat beside each other, near the back. Max had always enjoyed english, but only because she liked to write. In the earlier grades, she had been in honors english most of the time, but they didn't offer that here at Blackwell Academy. They engaged in small chit chat, noticing that as the time neared nine o'clock, more students had begun to make thier way into the rather large classroom.

When class finally began, it was the whole boring first day spiel, something that Max did not enjoy hearing at school. It was always boring to her, and every single class had always done it. She hoped that some of her other classes would skip over it, and get right into the nitty gritty. After all, they were seniors, they should know better by now, well, at least that's what Max had hoped for. So she sat there, head propped up and resting on her elbow, while she listened to her teacher talk for what seemed like an eternity. The only good thing about that class was that there was no seating chart, and Max and Kate were allowed to sit by each other.

Finally, the bell rang, and Max and Kate stood up, eager to leave and get the heck out of there. "Where are you off to next?" Kate asked, looking over at Max with her brown eyes. Kate had an art class at eleven, so she had a little bit of a break time before she had to report to her next class.

Max sighed, "Chemistry."

"I'll see you in photography then." Kate smiled, bidding Max a small farewell, before leaving the academics building. Max turned and located the science room. A small part of her hoped that maybe she'd make a new friend, but that was highly unlikely. Science had always been another one of Max's strong suit, and she loved participating in it as well. Chemistry on the other hand, may be a force to be reckoned with.

She walked in, and took an empty seat. There were already a few students sitting at the lab desks, and one boy in particular had caught her eye. He had a light complexion and shaggy brown hair, and he was working on some kind of science experiment, mixing different chemicals together and what not. It was clear that this kid new what he was doing. He looked friendly enough, so Max decided to approach him. "Whatcha working on?" She inquired, looking down at him.

He shrugged, "Just a little experiment."

"I'm Max." The brunette introduced.

"Max," The boy pondered. "Strange name for a strange girl." He chuckled, "I'm Warren."


	7. Long Day

Oddly enough, this Warren kid seemed pretty friendly, so Max decided to let her guard down for once. The brunette was very apprehensive about making friends on the first day of school, just because of how so many people acted fake. But Warren, he was okay, and there was something slightly different about him. Maybe she and Warren could be friends just like she and Kate were. He jabbered on and on, talking about science, and weird sci-fi movies that he enjoyed and other things of that nature. "You know, I could hook you up if you wanted me to, Max." And she only nodded at his abrasive words, causing him to chuckle, "You're not very chatty, are you?" He inquired with a small smile.

Max shook her head, "I'm not very good at doing the small talk thing." She answered.

He nodded in understanding, "That's okay." He insisted. "First day jitters, I get it." She watched with hesitant eyes while he went back to his experiment, testing different chemicals, and jotting down different notes. Suddenly, the bell rang, signaling that the class was finally beginning. Max took a seat beside Warren at one of the many lab tables, and watched as the teacher of the chemistry class walked in and to the front of the classroom. She looked friendly too, and Max was glad for that because she didn't want any strict teachers in her last year of high school.

It was another first day spiel pretty much. The teacher rambled on about safety measures to take while working on a lab, and talked about the different things they'd learn about this year. Max was definitely not amused by this. Of course, she enjoyed science, but chemistry seemed to be like it was going to be a challenge for her. Hell, maybe she and Warren would become better friends, and he'd be able to help her with her work and labs. That seemed like a good idea to her, and the brunette was satisfied. She was smart, and she was going to take advantage of the situation.

Class seemed to drag on for eternity, the only thing Max was paying attention to were the birds flying around outside in the summer sky. She jumped, however, when her phone buzzed inside her messenger bag. Nobody usually texted her knowing that she was in school, so she was confused as to who might be trying to contact her. Reaching down and checking it, she was surprised that she saw she had a text message from Kate. Kate did not seem the type of girl to be texting in class, but Max learned long ago that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. Kate had written: _hey, how's chemistry?_ Max smiled, glad that the girl remembered what class she was in.

Being discreet so the teacher wouldn't catch her texting, she typed a reply back to the blonde girl. She wrote: _it's pretty boring, actually. How was your art class?_ A part of Max was glad that Kate had texted her, because she needed some form of entertainment, and fast. This class was so boring, and there were still fifteen minutes of it left. The brunette didn't know how much longer she could take of this crap. And then her phone buzzed again, signaling another text from Kate. It read: _my art teacher let us out of class early since it was nice outside. I'm waiting for you._ Max thought it was sweet that Kate was waiting for her outside of class.

Finally, when the bell rang, Max gathered her things, and shuffled out of her seat and outside the door, only to find Kate standing there with two coffees. "Thought you could use this." Kate smiled, giving Max her coffee. She had wanted to do something nice for Max, and this deemed to be worthy enough for her approval. Kate was glad she had done it after all.

The brunette smiled thankfully, "Oh my gosh, Kate, you're a lifesaver."

Kate smiled, "I know."

"What class are you heading to next?" Max inquired as she walked down the busy hallway with Kate. It was funny seeing all of the students wandering around lost without a clue in the world on where to go. "I'm pretty sure I have a math class." She added, and then took a sip of her coffee. It was very sweet, and at that moment, she was more than happy that Kate had been thinking aboug her, and was nice enough to bring her a coffee. Hell, Max knew she was drained, and that was only after two classes. Hopefully this caffeine would give her enough energy to survive her math class, and the photography class. It deemed to be a challenge for the teen girl.

Kate pulled out her schedule, "I've got another art class, then photography with you." She answered.

Max nodded, "I'll see you then." She turned to walk into her math class, but then turned back around to Kate, "And thanks for walking me to class Kate." She smiled, and gave Kate a small hug before turning back into her classroom, and taking a seat. If it were even humanly possible, math class was even more boring than chemistry class, and Max couldn't believe it. She had hoped and prayed that maybe, just maybe this class would be different, but her hopes were let down in an instant. Maybe the second day of school would turn out to be more exciting, at least, that's what Max hoped.

When the bell finally rang, Max practically jumped out of her seat and headed out of the door. Photography had been the class that she had been looking forward to all day, and now, as her last class of the day, she finally got to go to it. And the best thing was that she had that class with Kate, so it would be more fun for her, at least she hoped it would be. And she hoped that her teacher wouldn't be totally boring like all the rest of them. If only... "Hey, Max, ready to go?" Kate interrupted the girl's thoughts by approaching her.

Max nodded, "You have no idea."

"Long day?" Kate inquired.

"That would be such an understatement." Max laughed as she and Kate walked to class.


	8. Mark Jefferson

The moment Max stepped into the photography classroom with Kate by her side, her heart sank. The room looked like a regular old classroom. Wasn't it supposed to look different? At least even a little bit? But there were the same old desks, computers, printers, books and other junk. At first glance, this did not look like a class to study photography. She had desperately hoped that there would be something different to surprise her. Maybe this class wouldn't live up to Max's expectations either. She hoped, however, that this time she was wrong. "Where do you want to sit, Max?" Kate inquired as they looked around the room. There weren't that many students in the room yet, so it was relatively empty at the moment.

Max shrugged, "The back is fine." She said and began walking to one of the tables in the back of the room. Kate followed behind her and the two girls laid their bags on the table as they sat down. Max pulled out her polaroid camera, thinking that this would be a good photo op. "Smile Kate!" She said as she pointed the camera at the blonde. Kate obliged, flashing Max her teeth while she took the picture. "First day of photography," Max showed Kate the finalized picture.

"Wow." Kate marveled, "I actually look happy." She handed the picture back to Max, who stuck it in her journal and wrote a caption underneath it. She enjoyed keeping pictures for memory sake. The two girls then talked in small talk, discussing different things, from their first day, to this last class, and to hanging out after school. The classroom had began to fill up after a few minutes, and Max liked that the class was relatively small. She didn't want to make it a chore though to be friends with every single person in here, that would just be too much. She and Kate would be the wallflowers, and she didn't mind that at all. When the bell rang, signaling class to start, a man who Max assumed was the teacher walked into the classroom. So that was Mark Jefferson; hell, he even looked like your stereotypical photographer/hipster. With the hair, and the suit, and the glasses, it was undeniable, and Max couldn't help but to snicker a little bit. "What's so funny, Max?" Kate asked.

Max composed herself, "He's a walking stereotype..." She gestured to the teacher, while a few more giggles escaped her lips. Kate followed her gesture and laughed too, her laugh being music to Max's delicate ears. Maybe this class wouldn't turn out to be so bad after all, and Max's hopes were suddenly lifted if only just slightly.

"Good evening everyone, please take a seat." The teacher, Mr. Jefferson began class. Max watched as the few students who had yet to find a desk went to sit down. "And welcome to the art of photography. As you all probably know by now, I'm Mark Jefferson, and I will be instructing this course. I hope to help you all become better photographers, and more confident in your work." He said as he walked around the room. Kate looked around and noticed that a few of the other girls in the class were practically swooning over Mr. Jefferson, hanging on his every word as he spoke, and she couldn't help but to laugh quietly. This class would be pretty entertaining if she had to say so herself. "And I know it's only the first day, but we will be having an assignment." He added.

"What!?" Groans could be heard throughout the class. Homework or any kind of work at all was forbidden on the first day of school, but Max was actually thankful that she would finally have something to do. And since it was for the class that she had with Kate, that meant the two of them could work on it together. Get some coffee, and have a late homework section in one of their rooms.

Mr. Jefferson walked around the room, passing out the rubric for the very first assignment ever. He stopped at everyone's table to engage in some small talk with them. Max assumed it was a weird thing that teachers did to try and get to know their students a little better. It was a strange thing, really. When he got to Max and Kate's table, he eyed Max's camera with careful eyes. "Vintage, I like it." He nodded in approval as he gave the two girls their papers.

"Uh, thanks?" Max replied, unsure.

Kate laughed, "Oh Max, he loves your hipster ways."

Max laughed as well, "If it will help me get an A, then I don't care."

Kate picked up the paper and gave it a read over, "At least this first assignment looks easy." She shrugged, "And we can work on it together." She suggested, causing Max to smile. It seemed as though Kate always knew what Max was thinking, and Max really enjoyed that. They seemed to get each other, understand each other if you will.

Mr. Jefferson cleared his throat, "Okay, so you could probably call this a project if you wanted to, but I want it to be as visual as possible. After all, this is an art class, so make it look artsy. I want you to make a creative profile of yourself. Why do you love photography? What got you interested in it? How long have you done it? And include lots of pictures. Anything you think that is remotely even related to the subject of photography." He explained the project in detail. "I guess this is my weird way of trying to get to know you guys. It's not due until next week, so you have lots of time. Go ahead and get started." He dismissed the class, and Max turned to talk to Kate.

"Wow, this is going to be easy." The brunette said.

Kate agreed, "Yeah, but we can work on it later. Are you hungry?" She asked.

Max nodded, "A little."

"Let's go get dinner." She suggested, and Max agreed. The two girls then stood up, put their things away, and headed to the door of the classroom. Kate Marsh had some tricks up her sleeves, and Max couldn't wait to figure them all out. And she was really excited for dinner. She wondered if Kate knew of any other restaurants in Arcadia Bay; that didn't matter though, because she knew that they would have a great time nonetheless.

"What did you have in mind?" Max inquired.

"Take out?" Kate suggested.

"That sounds like heaven."


	9. Homework

The air reeked of Chinese food as Max and Kate laid sprawled out on the floor in Max's room. Books and papers were strewn about in the floor, as were take out bags and boxes from their food. The two were working on their photography assignment, and other homework that they had received today, as well as indulging themselves on the food they had ordered. Max was glad Kate had suggested take out, because it had been a long time since she had eaten decent Chinese food. The sun was just now setting on the horizon, and the stars were almost out as Max's soft indie music played in the background. And once they ordered the Chinese food, the two girls decided to head back to Max's room to have a much needed study and relaxation session to work on school work and just talk and hang out.

Currently, Max was sitting up against her bed, watching Kate walk around her room and look at the different things Max had decorated her room with. Yes, she had finally unpacked everything, albeit it took forever, she was glad that it was finally done and over with. Her room gave off a certain chill vibe, with her pictures, posters, and twinkly lights, and she was glad that Kate seemed to like it. "Your room says so much about you, Max." Kate observed as she continued to look around, running her hands on the pictures.

"Oh really?" Max inquired, taking another bite of her noodles. "Like what?" She continued.

Kate shrugged, "You're artistic, love music and fine art, you're a movie junkie..." She trailed off with laughter. "Disorganized yet functional, and you're relaxed... Your room shows that you're pretty chill." She finished, turning to look at her brunette friend. It was unbelievable that Kate could gather all that information from just being in Max's room. There was something about that girl, Max was sure of it.

"Wow." Max marveled. "You're good."

"So I've been told." Kate smiled.

"Hey, can you water Lisa while you're up?" Max asked, pointing to her potted plant that sat by the window.

Kate let out a small laugh, "Sure." Max then watched as she grabbed a bottle of water and dumped some of it into the plant. Once she was finished, Kate came to sit down by Max. "Okay, let's get to work on this project." She began. "When did you begin photography, and what got you interested in it?" She questioned, looking over at her brunette friend.

Max shrugged, "I've been taking pictures for as long as I can remember." She started. "My dad, he got me that old polaroid camera for one of my birthdays and I guess I just knew. I like looking at the world through a lens, and I guess it just fits." Max explained. She didn't want to bore Kate by going into any more details, and she definitely wasn't going to tell Kate that she loved taking selfies. It was a strange thing, really, her sitting here and pouring everything out to Kate. Max hadn't ever really done that before, not even with some of her old friends; nobody took the time to listen to what she had to say. "What about you?" She asked Kate.

"I'm definitely not as passionate about it as you are." She started with a small smile. "Although I do enjoy art, photography is one of the lesser arts that I am interested in. My parents signed me up for anything that had to do with art; music, painting, drawing, and photography. They wanted me to be well educated I guess, and I do like it, I'm just not as passionate about it like I am with violin or drawing." She explained. "It's rather a hobby, while yours you want to make a career out of it." Kate continued to talk, and Max couldn't help but to stare into her brown doe eyes.

"That's interesting." Max replied. "I give you mad respect for learning how to do all that stuff."

"Do you like to do anything else, beside photography, and your guitar?" Kate inquired.

"I write." Max answered, "But barely." Kate listened intently, and ate another bite of her noodles. Max couldn't help but to glance at her hands, and she noticed a ring on Kate's left hand, and it was on her ring finger. Okay, there was no way in hell that Kate was already engaged. "What is that?" Max asked, pointing to Kate's ring as she sat her take out container back on the floor.

She averted Max's gaze, "Oh, that?" She inquired. "It's my um, my purity ring." Kate answered, a small crimson blush rising to her porcelain cheeks. Why was she so embarrassed about this certain subject. "I'm staying abstinent until marriage... It's a vow I took at church." She explained, and Max didn't know what to say. Sometimes it was so hard to forget that Kate was religious just because of the fact that she didn't push it on you like some other christians that Max knew. Of course, Max believed in a god, she just wasn't overly religious.

"That's actually pretty badass, Kate." Max said, smiling, glancing back up at her friend.

"Really?" Kate inquired. "You don't think it's stupid?"

"Why would I think it's stupid?" Max asked. "It's something you believe in, and I respect that."

"Thanks Max." Kate said, pulling in the brunette for a hug, and Max snapped another picture of the two. She was beginning to think that she'd have to start a collection of pictures for she and Kate. When the pulled away, Kate looked down at her watch, "Oh, it's getting late." She noticed and Max agreed. "It was nice having dinner with you, Max, and working together." She thanked as she stood up and gathered her things.

Max smiled, "You too, Kate." She added as she too stood up and walked Kate to the door. "Make sure you get lots of rest tonight, because I'll be knocking on your door bright and early to get coffee and go to class." She joked as she walked Kate back across the hall to her own dorm.

"I'll be looking forward to it." Kate smiled, before hugging Max one more time and going into her room.


	10. Weekend Plans

It seemed as though the more time Kate and Max spent together, the faster it seemed to go by. Before the two girls knew it, it was already nearing the end of the first month of school, and neither of them could believe it. It was funny, really, the amount of time they were spending together. Hell, they were practically joined at the hip. The only time they weren't seen hanging out was when they were in different classes, or when Kate was at church. The girls had learned much about each other, and even some things about themselves. Max was teaching Kate how to play guitar, and expanding her music types while Kate was giving Max drawing and singing lessons. It was amazing how the two girls could help each other.

After turning in their photography projects, Mr. Jefferson had taken a class photo, and assigned everyone a partner for the class. It was no surprise that Max and Kate decided right away to be partners. He had explained that the partner was merely to help expand and enlighten your work. Kate nor Max didn't care though, they were just glad they'd be getting to spend more time together. Their friendship was getting stronger every single day, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

Currently, Kate was sitting in one of her many art classes, listening to her teacher give a lecture and demonstration about shading in sketches, but she really wasn't paying attention at all. Her mind had long gone and wandered off, and she became lost in her thoughts, daydreaming about this and that. She couldn't help but to think of Max, and of everything the two had been through so far. Max made her feel so special, wanted, like she was the only person in the world that mattered. Heck, every time they even made eye contact, Kate got butterflies in her stomach. She hoped that she made Max feel like that too. But wasn't it strange for her to be having thoughts like that about another girl?

Suddenly, the blonde's phone buzzed, pulling her out of her many thoughts. Of course, it was Max. That was the only person who seemed to text her besides Stella, Alyssa, and sometimes Warren. Those were her other friends that she had somehow managed to make. The text read: _it's Friday night, got any plans? _And it showed a smiley face emoji. Kate couldn't help but to scoff at Max's ridiculous; they had hung out every single Friday night since they started talking. Whether it be dinner, movies, or just having a late night cup of coffee and looking up at the stars, they were always together. Kate discreetly texted back: _is that your way of telling me you don't want to hang out? _She put a frown emoji afterwards. Of course, she was only joking, but she enjoyed getting Max all riled up and what not.

Her phone buzzed immediately: _oh, no, Kate, I'm sorry, I do want to hang out. _The text was frantic, and it made Kate smiled. Once she made sure the teacher wasn't paying attention, she typed back a quick response: _haha, I was kidding. What do you have planned? I was thinking sleepover? Maybe in my dorm? xoxox. _Kate sent her reply, and suddenly, she felt nervous, queasy almost. Maybe it was because this was the first time she had asked Max to spend the night in her dorm. They had never slept over in each other's rooms before, so this would be a new experience to add to the list of things they were going to do together. Max text back: _sounds like a plan, see you in photography._

The bell rang a few moments later, signaling it was time for class to end. Kate gathered her things, shoved them in her book bag, and left the art class hurriedly. She was always this excited to reunite with Max. She made her way to the photography class, and much to her surprise, Max was already there at their table waiting for her. Suddenly, she snapped a picture of Kate as she was sitting down. "Got ya!" Max smiled as she shook the picture, waiting for it to show.

Kate grinned back, "That's got to be the hundredth picture you've taken of me today."

Max shrugged, "It's for my Kate Marsh shrine." She joked and the sighed, "You've just got a good face, I guess?" She laughed while glancing up into Kate's brown eyes. "That sounded weird, I'm sorry." She apologized as she put her camera back into her messenger bag.

"No, I get what you mean." Kate replied. "You have a good face too." She smiled. And there was that feeling again, that nervousness, or butterflies, or whatever it was that Kate was feeling. It was a good feeling, there was no doubt about it, but she just didn't understand why she was feeling what she was feeling. Especially towards Max; Max was her friend! She didn't want to complicate things, especially when she was so confused about everything already. She didn't want to mess things up with the brunette, not after they were already so good with one another.

"Kate?" Max interrupted, pulling Kate out of her thoughts.

"Huh?"

"I said, so what do you think about the sleepover? Is it a go?" She inquired.

"Definitely." Kate nodded. "We can go get movies and snacks, it'll be fun." She hadn't had a sleepover with one of her close friends in a really long time, and she just hoped and prayed that with Max it wouldn't be awkward or uncomfortable. They got along with each other so well, so it should be good. Kate was excited nonetheless, and Max was just as excited as well. She would get to cuddle up to Kate, and just revel in what was her. It was sure to be a good weekend, and even it wasn't, it would be good just because of the fact that the two girls would be together. The two girls then engaged in small talk until Mr. Jefferson entered the classroom and began the day's lecture. But he knew Max and Kate's minds were elsewhere.


	11. Marshfield Sleepover

Once classes were fully finished for the day at Blackwell Academy, Max and Kate hopped on the bus that went into town. They had decided to get lots of snacks, a few horror movies, and even some pizzas. What was an official sleepover without pizza? And once they were sure that they had everything they needed, they headed back to Blackwell, where it was well into the evening hours of the day. "I'm just gonna go change into some pajamas, okay?" Max looked over at Kate once they had arrived to the floor of their dorm and put the stuff they bought inside Kate's room. Inside, her heart was racing at the night to come. Max was excited and nervous all at the same time.

"Okay, me too." Kate agreed, and the two girls went their separate ways, if only for a moment. Kate went into her dorm, and took a deep breath. She needed to calm herself, and fast. She didn't want to be all nervous and flustered when she had never really been that way around Max before. "Okay... Calm yourself down girl. It's just a sleepover, and you don't want to weird Max out." Talking to herself seemed to help, and with a quick nod, the blonde stripped out of her skirt and sweater to put on a soft pink nightgown that she preferred to sleep in. After that, she made sure her room was straightened and tidied up, and helped herself to a piece of pizza.

Meanwhile, in Max's room, the brunette had slipped out of her jeans and put on a pair of cotton shorts and an old Seattle t-shirt. She was nervous as well, but she was better at hiding it than Kate was. Maybe it was because they were taking the next official step in their friendship or whatever. The brunette couldn't be sure. All she knew was that Kate made her feel something, deep in her pores, all the way from her head to her feet; she felt a hella strong connection for the christian girl. And it confused her, yet delighted her at the same time. Max decided to toss those thoughts away for now, and just focus on tonight. "One step at a time, Max." She chided, and then smiled. Hopefully Kate felt the same way.

When she was finished dressing, she headed back over to Kate's room, and knocked on the door. "Is that you, Max?" Kate called out from the other side.

"Yeah," Max answered. "Are you finished changing?" She inquired. The dorm room opened, and Max's breath became slightly hitched in the back of her throat. Holy hell, what was Kate trying to do to her? If there was one thing for sure, Max knew that after tonight, she'd have to do some serious self exploration, and figure out why she was so damn attracted to Kate. What was so special about her? Why did she have the power to make Max feel giddy and girlish? She felt so queasy she thought she was going to barf up those butterflies. "Nice jammies." She grinned, stepping into Kate's room.

"You too." Kate smiled.

Max pulled her camera out of her messenger bag, "Let's take a picture so we can remember this moment forever." She suggested, and Kate was all on board with that. So she stood beside Max, and gave her best smile while Max snapped away, taking a few photos so Kate could keep some as well. "Let the Marshfield sleepover commence!" She gave Kate a fierce look, which caused Kate to give a laugh. But Max was comfortable enough around Kate to act all silly like that and what not. And she knew Kate enjoyed it, so that's why she did it.

"You're such a dork, Max."

Max grinned, "Yeah, but you love it." She finished with a sigh.

"So, what's first?" Kate inquired, glancing up at Max with her brown eyes. "I kind of already ate while you were changing." She admitted, sheepishly.

"That's okay." Max reassured the blonde. This wasn't the first time she had been in Kate's room, but it sure felt like it. It's like she was seeing it in a new light or something. And Max realized that Kate was right; you can tell a lot about a person from the way their room looked. Kate's was spotless, organized, tasteful and classy. Every single thing matched. From the walls to the carpet, to the bed sheets and pillow shams... It all fit together in perfect harmony; just like Kate. Every single thing about her fit together in perfect harmony, and Max couldn't help but to take notice just about every single time. Kate was all that was on her mind, and the christian girl was like an addictive drug. But Max knew that Kate would probably say the same about her.

"Let's just watch a movie." Kate suggested, and Max agreed. The two girls made a makeshift bed on the floor, since Kate's bed wasn't big enough for the two of them to lay in it together. Layers of blankets and pillows of all different sizes surrounded them, and Kate popped the DVD into her laptop, cuddled right up to Max, and began watching the movie. Although she really wasn't paying much attention to the movie. The only thing she could focus on was the rise and fall of Max's chest as her breathing relaxed, and how Max smelled like lilac and vanilla mixed together to achieve the perfect combination. What was Max doing to her? And little did Kate know, Max wasn't paying attention to the movie either. Kate was so warm as their bare arms pressed against each other while they sat next to one another. It made goosebumps trail up and down Max's pale skin. And Kate was so soft, she smelled like roses; and Max couldn't get enough of the sickly sweet scent. She just couldn't get enough of Kate. This sleepover was a recipe for disaster, because it only confused the girls about their weird feelings even more.

When the movie was done and over with, Max began to yawn, "Ready to go to sleep?" She asked Kate.

"If you are, then yeah." Kate answered, barely being able to look Max in the eye.


	12. In Her Arms

"Are you comfortable?" Kate asked in a hushed voice. The two girls lay together in the dark room on their makeshift bed of pillows and blankets, parallel next to each other. Laying there next to one another, they were glad they could finally get some rest from the day's events, or week's events rather. It sure had been a long week for the blonde and brunette. Both of the girls were laying on their sides, facing away from each other. They could feel the warmth radiating between them, and Kate could hear Max's gentle breaths in the silence of the room; they were like waves, gently lulling her with each inhale and exhale.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Max whispered, her voice barely audible. She couldn't bring herself to turn over and look at Kate because she knew if she did, she would absolutely lose it. Seeing that beautiful blonde girl all vulnerable and what not, resting with her soft tufts of hair all disheveled around her pretty face, in that little pink nightgown. She knew she would be a bundle of nerves, unable to control her emotions, and she didn't want that around Kate right now. Max wanted to do some self exploration first, before she made any kind of move on Kate; and she needed to make sure that Kate actually reciprocated some kind of feelings towards the brunette. "Thanks for letting me sleep over." She added, smiling softly, just glad they were getting to spend time together.

"I wouldn't want it any other way." Kate replied softly.

Max sighed, finally, an audible sound, "You know, you mean a lot to me, Kate." She said, still facing away from the other girl.

"You mean a lot to me too, Max." Kate admitted as well, a small smile coming to her delicate lips. It was quiet after that, and Kate closed her chocolate brown eyes and tried to go to sleep. It was hard though, because the only thing she could focus on was Max. How the girl that meant so much to her was laying ride beside her trying to go to sleep. And their backs were touching, warmth radiating through the both of their bodies; their legs were nearly intertwined with each other's. The smooth skin brushing against itself was enough to make Kate feel alive. It stirred feelings inside of her that she had never really felt before with another person. And it was odd. Kate was confused, and she knew she had a lot of thinking process to do.

It was no secret that Max felt the same way. When she finally did turn over in bed, she was thankful to see that Kate was already long gone and in depth to her sleep. She looked younger when she was sleeping, relaxed and peaceful, and pretty like always. Max wouldn't admit to herself, but she was physically attracted to Kate, and deep down she wondered if Kate thought she looked pretty as well. Both girls were confused, both girls were hiding behind false courage, and both girls knew that this friendship had all the potential in the world to be more, they were just afraid. Afraid of what they were, or what they would become, and it was indeed scary.

Kate's chest rose and fell with each breath she took, and Max used that rhythm to help her fall asleep too. Soon, their breathing matched, and Max allowed herself to relax and fall into a peaceful slumber beside her best friend. It was weird to think that Kate was lying there, right next to her. It was a good feeling though, and Max would not deny that. She liked this feeling, knowing that the fact that someone was there beside her, protecting her, watching over her in that weird protective way. The brunette wondered if Kate felt the same about having her here as well.

She sometimes wished she could read Kate's mind. At times, Kate could be read so easily, like an open book if one wanted to make a comparison like that. But at other times, she was so shy and reserved and nervous, Max couldn't tell what was going on in that headspace of hers. Usually Kate told Max what was going on, but the times she didn't really made Max think and think as to what could have the Christian girl so worked up all of the time. Kate was often in her thoughts more than she should be, and that was happening more frequently as time went on. Max knew that somehow, Kate was changing, bit by bit. She didn't know what it was, but she knew that it was happening. And she could feel herself changing as well.

When morning at Blackwell came, Kate was the first to wake out of she and Max. Her brown orbs fluttered open delicately, and it took her a moment to register the previous night. When she felt a pair of arms around her small torso, her face lit up, blushing a crimson red color. Max must have rolled over in the middle of the night and put her arms around Kate. She had probably done it in her sleep, so Kate didn't think much of it. Sitting up, she maneuvered her way out of Max's grasp, careful not to wake her best friend up.

The blonde stretched her stiff muscles, fed her bunny some breakfast and grabbed Max's camera out of her bag to snap a photo to remember this moment. She was sure that Max wouldn't mind. After taking the picture, Kate waited for it to show, and then she studied it. Max was a sight to be seen, because she was absolutely stunning, even when she was asleep. Kate shook her head, and sat the picture down on her dresser. A blush came to her cheeks, and she tried hard to get it to go away. She should not be having thoughts like that, she knew better.

But she couldn't help it. Kate had been suppressed for so long because of her beliefs and family, it was no wonder it would all start to come out now when she was away from all that. At Blackwell, she felt like her true self. With Max, she felt like her true self. Was this who she really was all along? Was she gay? Did she even really like Max like that? What was happening? Her head was spinning and she didn't know what to do with herself, it was all too much to take in at a moments notice. "Have you been awake long?" Max inquired, pulling Kate out of her thoughts.

Kate shook her head, "No."

"Wanna go get breakfast?" Max asked, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out her eyes.

"Yeah." Kate nodded.


	13. Two Peas In a Pod

Breakfast between the two girls went well just like it always did, and they spent the rest of the weekend together too, like always. But there was this feeling between the two of them, an elephant in the room if you will. Of course, the friendship was still rock solid as the next few days passed, but something was going on with the both of them, and neither of them could quite put their fingers on it. Kate began to slightly distance herself from Max. It wasn't enough for Max to notice, but Kate could recall the lack of communication and what not.

After the next week of school, it was the weekend again, and Max only assumed that they were going to hang out just like they had always done each previous weekend. So she texted Kate, and asked her if she had any plans. It was the same routine each time. When Kate texted her back, Max was shocked. The text read: _I'm not feeling well Max, why don't you go hang out with Warren or someone else? Sorry, I'll make it up to you, promise. xxxoxoxoxo, Kate._ Her best friend had never turned down an invitation until now. Kate must have been really sick for her not to want to go hang out with Max.

Truth is, Kate wasn't feeling well, but it wasn't that kind of sick like a cold or anything. She was merely stuck in her thoughts, entrapped in a never ending cycle. And the more time she had spent with Max, the worse it had gotten. She began having dreams about Max, and they weren't PG rated either. She began thinking about Max in all those different ways. And Kate yearned for Max; she wanted the girl like she needed air to breathe. This confused Kate very much. She wasn't like this, she couldn't be like this, it was a sin. Everything that her parents had warned her about was now everything that was haunting her. It was a strange yet daunting feeling.

But she couldn't be gay, could she? Kate just kept asking herself that question over and over again. Was it wrong? Was there something wrong with her? Why was she so confused, and why couldn't this just get any easier? Kate never had boyfriends, heck, she had never even looked at a boy the way she looked at Max. Oh god, why was she even contemplating this right now? It was wrong on every level. She had never looked at girls though either, well, she hadn't really ever looked at anyone. Her parents had always told her to save herself for God, so that was what she was doing. But now, away from her parents, around Max... It all felt different. She felt like Kate, the true Kate.

She had heard of gay christians before, but she had never thought anything of it. Maybe that could be her? But the bible... The bible says that it's wrong... Kate sighed in frustration, what was she going to do? "Is it really a sin to be with someone you love?" She pondered out loud. Laying in her bed, and looking up at the ceiling, she knew she was stuck. And that brought Kate to another question: did she love Max? She may like her a lot, and want to be with her, but not love her. Well, at least not yet. And she didn't even know if Max felt the same. Why did this have to be so hard?

Would she go against her beliefs anyway if Max felt the same? In the end, she knew that she would, because Max made her extremely happy. Another sigh escaped Kate's lips, and she knew that she had come to the inevitable conclusion: She was gay, and she was in love with her best friend. Of course, she was still going to be faithful to her religion, but deep down, she knew that God loved her either way, regardless of who she loved. She decided that she would be an open minded christian, and as long as she got to be with Max, everything would be okay. The two would conquer the world together.

Meanwhile, Max and Warren were hanging out at the main school campus. "So is Kate like okay?" Warren asked.

"She said she was sick, I'm still going to visit her later though." Max answered.

It was no secret that Warren had feelings for Max. He was always trying to get her to hang out with him and what not, even if they hadn't been friends for such a long time. Max would always decline though, because she was hanging out with Kate. She didn't like Warren, at least not in that way. He was a good friend and everything, but Max just was not interested. Warren didn't make her feel like Kate made her feel. "Send her my love." Warren chuckles, "She probably just has a cold or something. It might be allergies." He added, shrugging nonchalantly.

Max nodded, "Yeah, you're probably right."

"You want to go get some dinner or something?" He inquired, looking over at Max.

"Warren..." Max trailed off.

He stops her though, before she can even say anything else. "No, it's okay Max, I get it."

"You get what?" She asked.

"You have a thing for Kate, don't worry it's cool. I won't tell her." Warren answered with a small grin, and Max was taken aback. How in the world did he know that she had feelings for Kate? Did everybody know but herself? "And by the looks of it, Kate has a thing for you too." He added. "You guys are like two peas in a pod." He joked, causing Max to smile. She wasn't going to deny his statement, but she also wasn't going to accept it either. She didn't know for sure if she had feelings for Kate or not. And she also didn't want to make any hasty moves just in case Kate didn't like her back. According to Warren though, she did, and that made Max happy as hell.

"You're a good friend, Warren." Max smiled.

He smiled right back at her, "So I've been told."


	14. The First Move

It was getting pretty late when Kate received a knock at her dorm room door. She hadn't had company all day, but she sort of knew in the back of her mind already who was at the door. Getting out of bed, she slid on her slippers and shuffled to the entrance of her room to let whoever it was in. When she opened the door, she was shocked to see her best friend Max standing there with a cup of noodles and some herbal tea. "Hey Kate." Max smiled, "Mind if I come in?" The brunette inquired as she looked Kate over. She didn't look too sick, but her eyes were a little puffy, and the tip of her nose was red. Maybe Warren was right, maybe she did just have a cold after all.

"Uh, sure." Kate managed to get out once she was finally finished standing there looking dumbfounded. She was in literal shock though after finding out it was Max at the door. The blonde figured that Max would be mad at her for a little bit for blowing her off today, especially since it was Friday. But nonetheless, here she was, always surprising Kate. She was such a great friend, and Kate often wondered what she did to deserve someone like Max in her life. "So what's up?" Kate inquired as she shut her door and looked over at Max who was sitting on the bed. She thought it would be a good idea to go and sit over there as well.

"Well, you said you were sick so I brought you some soup and some tea... And I'm here if you need me to take care of you." At that last part, Max could feel her face heating up in a slight blush. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay." She added with a shrug as she sat the noodles and tea on Kate's nightstand. Kate didn't know what to say, for she was still in shock. Maybe this was a sign, maybe this was God telling her to make her move on Max, right here, right now. Maybe that's why Max was in her room right now, sitting awfully close to her.

Kate sighed, "I'm okay, I think it was just my allergies or something I ate." She knew lying too much was a sin, but she couldn't spill everything to Max, not right now. She had to know that Max liked her first before she did anything drastic. "But you're not mad at me?" Kate inquired innocently, looking up at Max, her eyes meeting the baby blues across from her.

"Mad at you?" Max questioned, her brow furrowing slightly. "Kate, why in the world would I be mad at you?"

"For blowing you off..." Kate trailed off, her gaze drifting from Max's eyes.

Max laughed slightly, "Blowing you off? Kate you were sick!"

Kate smiled for the first time today. Max was such an incredible person, she didn't know what she did to deserve a wonderful person like her in her life. She then shook her head, "You know, every time I think I know you, you go off and do something that surprises me even more." Kate trailed off. "Thanks for the soup and tea." She added, crossing her legs underneath her, getting more comfortable in the bed.

"I guess I'm just full of surprises." Max shrugged. She couldn't believe that Kate thought that she was mad at her. She could never be mad at Kate. Kate was so innocent and pure all the time, how could anybody be mad at her? She was just so full of life and light, and Max just couldn't get enough of her. A part of her contemplated confessing, right then and there, and Warren said that Kate felt the same... So why was Max still dancing around the subject? Why did she feel so nervous? And why did her heartbeat sound like a pummeling freight train about to derail from the tracks? "Do you need anything else?" Max inquired, breaking the silence between the two.

Kate took in a breath, and decided that it was now or never. "I think there might just be one thing." She trailed off, glancing up at Max shyly.

"Well, what is it?" Max asked, completely oblivious.

"You." Kate breathed out, and in that moment, her lips were on Max's. It was unlike anything that she had ever felt before, the warmth, and the softness. Every nerve in her body felt like electric currents were running through her, and Kate felt alive. And the best part about the whole thing was that Max was kissing her back! Their lips moved together in synchronization, weaving together as one. Kate could feel Max's hands cupping her face, and Kate's hands were around Max's torso. It was like they had a mind of their own and just wandered back there by themselves. She couldn't control herself, and she didn't want to if she was being honest. It was the two's first kiss, and it was a good one. When they pulled away for a breath, Max only stared into Kate's brown eyes. "Max... I..." Kate didn't know what to say. She didn't know what had come over her, and now she instantly regretted it.

Max's heart was still beating a mile a minute, "Kate... You... I... I have to go." She jumped up, and began to exit the room.

"Max, wait!" The blonde called out, but then she watched Max leave her room. "Don't go..." Kate trailed off, already feeling that familiar lump in her throat beginning to form. Tears escaped her dark eyes, and now she didn't know what to do. Why did she kiss Max? It was such a stupid thing to do, and now she was going to have to pay the consequences. Max probably wasn't going to talk to her ever again.


	15. Fears and Dreams

Max stared wide eyed at her journal that lay in her lap; fresh ink scribbled on the lined pages. It was late, very late, but Max didn't care, she had to write. She had to get out what she was feeling. She was never good with expressing her emotions, that's why she wrote. Words came better to her on paper than they did to her mouth. The brunette was just so utterly confused at the moment. Her lips still tingled from that kiss, and the only thing she could think about was Kate. "What the fuck did I do?" She muttered to herself, mentally kicking herself for bailing on Kate like that. The poor girl was probably heartbroken, she was probably across the hall in bed crying.

Isn't this what she wanted? Didn't she want Kate to make her move? Of course she did, but now she was left with the consequences and the aftermath. Max had never really decided if this was what she wanted. Her wrist and hand ached as she wrote, but she knew that this was good, it was good of her to be writing. _I had never once thought to question my sexuality, _she wrote. _But Kate Marsh is something that has to be mine. Gay? I doubt it. Bisexual, probably. But why did it have to have a label? Couldn't we just be together without question? Did Kate want me as much as I wanted her? Is that why she kissed me? _Max scribbled down her thoughts in a hurry, her mind practically racing.

Max Caulfield had never had a boyfriend either. Of course, she'd had crushes, thinking boys were cute and what not, but none of them ever made her feel like Kate did. And that's why she was so conflicted about all of this. Wasn't that against Kate's religion? Had Kate thought about these things as well? Who the hell cared if she was gay though? She was an adult, it was her life, and as long as she was happy that's all that mattered, right? Once that thought settled in, Max felt giddy. Kate actually liked her, Kate reciprocated her feelings, Kate wanted to be with her. And all of that was way more than Max could ever hope for.

She continued to write, _I think I'll ask her to be my girlfriend. Let's just hope that she'll forgive me for leaving her after that kiss. _With a sigh, she closed her pen, and shut her journal, and then put the items back in her messenger bag. Max was glad that tomorrow was saturday, no classes, and she'd have plenty of time to make up with Kate. She then changed into her pajamas, and crawled into bed, covering up with her many blankets. On the wall beside her was a little collage of pictures of she and Kate, and she just couldn't help but to smile at this sight of it. Kate really did make her happy.

Sleep for Max just wouldn't come. Her mind wandered and wandered on, mostly about the blonde girl in the dorm across the hall from her. But she was probably asleep already. She wished dearly that Kate was here with her, so that she could wrap her arms around her, like at the sleepover. She had done that on purpose, succumbing to what her heart and mind were telling her. She knew deep down that Kate wouldn't mind though; hell a part of her deep down knew that she would like it. Max sighed, she wanted to kiss Kate again as well. Her lips felt so good, they were so soft. And you could tell she was nervous when she kissed Max, but Max didn't blame her. That probably took a lot of nerve to do what Kate did.

She rolled over in her bed, hugging her pillow. Maybe she should have just confessed to Kate a long time ago, then she would have saved the both of them all this nonsense and trouble. But even so, if Max did confess to the blonde back then, would she have reciprocated the feelings as well? Their connection with each other was strong, and Max was grateful for that. They were the ultimate best friends, and deep down, Max knew that somehow, some way, they would be even better girlfriends. At the word girlfriend, Max felt herself blushing. Kate was going to be her girlfriend, they would do couple things together, and Max couldn't get over that.

Meanwhile, over in room 222, Kate had finally managed to dry up her tears. She was eating her noodles and tea that Max had given her earlier, and the christian girl was still so confused about everything. Why had Max run out like that so fast? She thought that her friend wanted the same things that she wanted, but she guessed wrong. A part of her wanted to go across the hall the Max's room, ask her if she was okay, ask her what was going on, but Kate knew better. She'd give Max some time, and hopefully the brunette would come to her when ready. Maybe the kiss was just overwhelming? That's what Kate was hoping for. She would have asked permission first, but she knew that by then she would have chickened out. Not thinking about it helped a lot.

Kate finished her noodles, and threw the container in the trash. She then laid down, knowing the faster that she fell asleep, the faster she and Max would see each other again, and she so desperately wanted that. Now that she had Max Caulfield in her life, she couldn't imagine her life without Max in it. Max had gotten so acutely underneath her skin, and now, they were both in too deep, there was no getting out of this... Before Kate fell asleep, she sent Max a text, and hoped that they girl would see it when she woke up in the morning.

_I'm sorry... xoxoxo, Kate._


	16. Sorry

When morning finally came, Max felt extremely groggy, but that was probably because she didn't get much sleep at all. Her mind wandered relentlessly throughout the late hours, trying to conjure up what she was going to say to Kate. All that pondering though, was to no avail, because the brunette still had no idea what words would come out of her mouth when she came face to face with the girl who kissed her yesterday.

She sat up in bed, stretching her sore body parts, when she noticed the notification light on her phone blinking. Max grabbed it without a second thought, and saw that she had received a text from Kate late last night. _Oh silly girl_, she thought with a shake of her head, _why are you apologizing?_ Max then stood up, made her already messy bed, and changed into some clean clothes.

She knew that she had to fix this, and fast, before Kate started to overthink everything that had happened. The brunette grabbed her phone once more, and decided that she should text Kate first to make sure she even wanted to talk. _Hey Kate, are you busy? We should talk, if that's ok with you._ Once she sent the text, her breathing was uneven. If Kate did want to talk, what in the world would Max even say? Hey sorry for rejecting you yesterday? That ought to work out fantastically. The photographer was so worked up over all of this. But she knew Kate, and she knew that deep down Kate would understand. When her phone buzzed, signaling a reply from Kate, a sigh of relief escaped her lips. _Sure, I'm in the main yard, meet me there._ Kate's reply seemed so void of emotion, and Max blamed herself for that.

She grabbed her messenger bag, slipped on her converse shoes, and headed out into the hallway. Instinctively, her eyes went to Kate's door, room 222, and what she saw made her cringe. Written on Kate's little whiteboard was: Kate twerks for God. Immediately, Max erased it, and drew a smiley face instead. So it seemed Kate had made some enemies here at Blackwell already. It was probably that girl Victoria, Max was not too fond of her either. Great, this was just what Kate needed; she had enough on her plate already, like she needed bullies added to that list. Max sighed, and merely walked away. When she exited the dormitory building, she thought coffee was an excellent idea.

Meanwhile, Kate was outside in the main yard of Blackwell Academy. She was sitting underneath a shady tree, enjoying the autumn weather, and reading one of her many books that she owned. She used a picture of she and Max for a bookmark. Internally, she was nervous to speak to Max. What if she was mad about the kiss? What if she didn't like her back? What if she only wanted to remain friends? All these questions haunted Kate, and she knew the only way she'd get answers is if she and Max faced their demons, and confronted the situation head on. With Max at her side, she could do anything, they could conquer the world if they wanted to.

"Hey Kate!" It was Warren's voice who pulled the blonde girl out of her thoughts. It seemed as though he was enjoying the fall weather as well.

Kate merely waved back, not feeling in the mood to talk to anyone else but Max at the moment. And speaking of Max, there she was, making her way out of the cafeteria with two cups of coffee in hand. Kate could feel her heartbeat speed up at the sight of her best friend/gay crush, and immediately, all thoughts of doubt left her head. She and Max would fix this, no matter what. She hurriedly went back to reading her book, so it wouldn't look like she was expecting Max, and when the brunette finally approached her, she sat down across from Kate, a small smile gracing her features. Max stuck out her hand, offering a cup of coffee to Kate. "It's vanilla." She began, "Your favorite."

Kate looked up, and she was struck by those baby blue eyes. Max was looking absolutely radiant this morning. She took the coffee, and sipped it, it tasted so good. "Apology coffee? How thoughtful..." Kate was meant to sound sarcastic, but came out sounding bitter instead. That was not the intention at all. Max's eyes softened at Kate's tone of voice. It was clear that she was just as hurt as the other girl.

"Kate..." Max trailed off. "I'm sorry."

The blonde closed her book and sat it beside her, "You have nothing to be sorry for, it's my fault."

"I shouldn't have ditched you."

"Yeah, well, I shouldn't have kissed you." Kate retorted, not being able to meet Max's gaze.

Max could feel her face heating up, "But I'm glad you did."

It was silent between them once Max broke that barrier. But it was true, she was glad that Kate had kissed her. If it wasn't for that first kiss between them, Max might have not ever considered her more than friend feelings for Kate. And now, it was the moment of truth, all the cards were on the table, the nerves were gone. Kate looked up, her brown eyes meeting Max's blue ones for what felt like an eternity between the two. Kate's voice was soft when she spoke again, "Then why'd you run away after I did it?" She inquired. "Do you know how much that hurt me?" She continued to question.

Max shrugged, "I freaked out, Kate." A nervous laugh, "Hell, I didn't expect you to kiss me, and I didn't expect to like it so much."

"Truth is," Kate began. "I've wanted to do that for such a long time."

"Well, Kate Marsh, you've got balls." Max laughed. "Because I would have never had the courage to just up and kiss you like that." She explained with a shake of her head. A more serious atmosphere then took between the two, and Max grabbed Kate's hand to squeeze it tight. "Will you be my girlfriend, Kate?" She questioned, their eyes blazing. She had wanted to ask Kate that question for so long. Being friends was just simply not even enough for her. They had to do this, they had to take this next step. Max didn't know what she'd do without Kate in her life.

"Of course." Kate smiled, and Max took a picture, even though she'd probably remember this moment forever anyway.


	17. Swear Words

"So... Should we go on a date?" Kate asked, looking up at Max. The two girls were sitting in Max's room, painting each other's nails, letting the dorm room reek of the fresh poison. It had been two days, two days since the girls had made their relationship official, and they had been latched to each other ever since Kate agreed to Max's question. It's not like things were any different though, and Max had to guess that that was what Kate was hinting at. She wanted things to be different, she wanted to do girlfriend stuff, whatever that may be. Max on the other hand, had no fucking clue.

She finished Kate's thumb nail, a fresh layer of pink color on the surface, and shrugged. "If you want." Max answered. "I mean, if you want to get technical we've been on lots of dates already." She added with a small smile, opening a new bottle of nail polish to make some polka dots on Kate's finger nails. And that was true, ever since the two girls had met those first few days before school had started, they had gone out and done things with each other. Now here they were, two and a half months into the school year and already an official couple. Hell, what could Max say? She was an ambitious one, that was for sure. But so was Kate.

Kate laughed, "Yeah, but if you want to get really technical, it would be our first date as an official couple."

"As girlfriends." Max added, grinning.

"So you agree?" Kate inquired, inspecting her nails.

Max nodded, "Yeah, just give me a few days to pull something together. It has to be special, you know? Since it's our first one and everything." The brunette explained. She liked to be the planner, to organize things. "But listen, I have to warn you Kate..." She trailed off, and stopped painting Kate's nails so that she could look her in her brown eyes. "You know, once we do this, I mean like go on dates and be public, you have to be ready for whatever the world throws at you. I'm not really sure how Arcadia Bay or Blackwell is with gay people, but maybe we should just keep it on the lowdown, or something like that... I just don't want either of us getting hurt." Max trailed off, grabbing Kate's hand. And she was so right. Since the two girls were in a relationship with one another, they were going to be teased relentlessly, especially in a small town like Arcadia.

"I know, Max." Kate sighed. "And I'm ready. I've thought about all of this already, before." The blonde answered.

"That's good." Max replied with a quick nod. "I just don't want you biting off more than you can chew, okay? We can take this slow if you want."

"I'd like that." Kate smiled, inspecting her nails once Max was finished with them.

"This is fucking great." Max spoke, smiling.

"Hey!" Kate chided, her eyebrows furrowing. "You know I don't like it when you use swear words around me." She said, giving the brunette sitting across from her an angry look. And that was true as well. Max had only cussed around Kate a mere handful of times because she knew how much Kate hated it. But tonight, Max felt like pressing her buttons, and teasing her just a little bit. It was so funny how she got all worked up and what not over the little things. And when Max saw her like that, she only liked her even more.

"Swear words?" Max questioned. "What are we, Kate? Five?" She playfully retorted.

"You know what I mean." Kate smiled, laying her down in Max's lap as the brunette sat crisscross on the carpeted floor. Kate's head was resting on Max's legs, and Max only looked down at her, lovingly, her blue eyes sparkling. It really was the moments like these, the intimate and vulnerable ones that really made a relationship count. Max was grateful for Kate, because hell, she was an angel. And Max's own personal angel, she liked to think. A sigh then escaped Kate's lips, and she grabbed Max's hands and brought them to her scalp, where Max began to massage her temples.

"You wanna know something?" Max inquired as she rubbed Kate's head.

"Hm?"

"I haven't gotten to kiss you yet." The brunette said, her full lips pulling up into a grin. With Kate around, she was always smiling, there was absolutely no doubt about that. But she was messing with her again, and Kate probably knew it. Max didn't care though, she wanted an excuse to be able to kiss Kate again. They were girlfriends though, so she shouldn't really need an excuse, but still, this whole dating thing was still a very foreign thing to both girls, and Max didn't just want to randomly kiss her, that seemed too weird.

Kate's brows furrowed, "Yes you have."

"Technically..." Max drawled out. "You got to kiss me, I didn't get to kiss you." Suddenly, Kate sat up, catching Max off guard. Their faces were so close to each other, Max could feel Kate's warm breath fanning her face, and it smelled like strawberry bubble gum. Kate's brown eyes darted to Max's blue ones, then down to her lips, then back up to her eyes. "Then go for it." She breathed out, and Max could feel goosebumps rising over her skin as she took Kate's advice and captured her girlfriend's lips in her own. With Max leading the kiss, everything felt different, but the brunette concluded that she liked being the initiative dominant one. She liked being in charge, controlling the situation. Kate's lips felt like pillows, and in that moment she knew that she'd never get tired of kissing Kate Marsh ever again.


	18. Take My Hand

"Max and Kate, sittin' in a tree..."

"Would you shut up, Warren?" Max bit back, quieting her friend.

Warren chuckled, "Sorry... Actually, no I'm not." The two were in chemistry, mixing some kind of concoction, working on a lab for the assignment for the day. It was friday, and Max couldn't really concentrate on anything but the date that she was going to take Kate on tonight. All week, really, that was where her focus was. She wanted to impress her girlfriend, make her feel special more than anything. And finally, today was the day, and Max had a little something planned. An intimate setting she knew Kate would love. It was going to be perfect, she would make sure of it or die trying.

Max sighed, and looked back over at Warren, "Why are you making such a big deal out of this?" She inquired.

"It is a big deal, isn't it?" He retorted, writing something down on his paper.

"No." Max replied. "We're just two girls, going on a date." But honestly, who was she trying to fool? Max was giddy as hell for the date, and she was ready to spend some alone time with Kate. All week they'd been hiding out in their dorms so that they could spend time together. They'd been laying low like Max suggested, and keeping the public displays of affection to a minimum. People didn't know that they were together, but then again, not a lot of people knew just exactly who Max Caulfield and Kate Marsh were. But still, Blackwell Academy was a small school, and things would spread fast.

Warren scoffed, pulling Max out of her thoughts, "My two best friends are dating each other, that's a pretty big deal to me."

"We're just trying to keep it on the low, okay Warren?" Max said, giving in. "Especially with Kate's religion and stuff. We're just going slow, one day at a time."

Warren smiled, "Aw, Max Caulfield, are you growing soft on me?"

"Grow up Warren." Max teased, before copying down what he had on his paper. That's when the bell rang, signaling that class was over for the day. Max and Warren turned their papers in, before exiting the classroom. Max was so ready for this date with Kate. No more classes for the day, and she was glad for that on this particular friday. She'd have more time to get ready for her date. She and Kate had made preparations for this day, and Max knew to pick Kate up at her dorm once she was ready.

So as soon as Max got back to her room, she threw her messenger bag down on her bed, and cranked up the music. The brunette didn't want to wear her usual jeans and t-shirt combo, she wanted to go at least slightly more classy for Kate, since it was their first date and all. She went through her small collection of clothes, and found some jeans that weren't torn, and a pink shirt that she matched with a black cardigan since it was still a bit chilly outside. There was no way Max was giving up her converse, but she knew Kate would understand that. But what about her hair? She ran a brush through it, figuring that was good enough, and applied a tiny bit of mascara to her short eyelashes, hoping Kate would notice.

When Max was finally ready, she picked her messenger bag back up, and threw it over her shoulder. She had to take a few deep breaths to calm herself before leaving her dorm room. This was it, she was going to walk across the hall to room 222, knock on it, and take her girlfriend on their very first date. It was going to be a memorable experience, that was for sure, but Max brought her camera, just in case. She needed some photos to add to her Kate Marsh collection. Once she was calm, Max walked out into the hallway, and across the hall. It was a foreign sound as she knocked on the door. She could hear her girlfriend shuffling around on the other side, and finally the door opened, revealing Kate.

"Ready for this date?" Kate asked as she stood in the doorway, looking at Max.

"Kate..." Max trailed off, staring agape at her girlfriend. "You look... Beautiful." The brunette complimented. She was wearing a skirt, a baby blue cashmere sweater, white shoes, and her gold cross necklace adorned her neck like always. Her blonde tufts of hair weren't in their usual up do, but instead laid in gentle waves on Kate's shoulders. She looked radiant, like a bright light, beckoning for Max to come in. And those brown eyes, accentuated with light mascara, were so easy to read. She was nervous, but so was Max, so they were even.

Kate's cheeks turned a lush crimson color, "Thanks Max, so do you." There she was, the shy girl Max fell in love with in the first place.

"Are you ready to go?" Max inquired, extending her hand for Kate to take. The blonde looked at Max's hand, and then back up to Max. She was hesitant, there was no doubt about that, and she still wasn't sure if PDA was okay. "It's okay Kate, I promise." Max reassured with a small nod. Kate finally obliged, and grabbed her girlfriend's hand to squeeze it tight. They swung their arms back and forth as they left the dormitory building, and headed to the bus stop. Luckily, nobody had said anything to them. Maybe the gay thing wouldn't be such a big deal at Blackwell, or in Arcadia Bay... At least that's what Max hoped.

When they got on the bus, the new couple sat next to each other, and shared shy glances. "So where are we going?" Kate had asked with a small grin.

Max smiled, "It's a surprise."


	19. The Lighthouse

The bus ride took a total of about fifteen minutes, and finally arrived to Max's destination for the date. When the bus came to a complete stop, the brunette turned to look at Kate. "You're gonna hate this part, but I need you to cover your eyes." She said, and Kate obliged, putting her hands in front of her eyes. "And no peeking either!" She ordered, as she guided Kate off of the bus carefully so that the christian girl wouldn't fall. The bus ride was only half of the journey, and they had to walk the rest of the way. Max hoped that Kate didn't mind, but deep down she knew she didn't care at all.

"Where are we, Max?" Kate inquired as she continued to walk the path that Max was leading her on.

"I told you it was a surprise!" Max replied, grinning as she continued to lead Kate up the path. "We're almost there though, I promise." She said, and it was true, they were almost at the final destination for the date. And all the while, Max only continued to get more and more nervous with each step closer they got. She really hoped that Kate would enjoy everything that she'd spent so much time putting together. She wanted everything to be perfect. All in all, this was looking to be a pretty good first date. Finally, when they reached the end of the path, Max stopped Kate. "Okay, stand right here, and don't open your eyes until I say so." She said to Kate who was still oblivious to everything.

The blonde nodded in agreement, "Okay, I won't." Kate then stood in place, and waited for Max's cue. Meanwhile, Max was scurrying about the secret place, trying to find the items that she came and hid here earlier in the day for the date. Luckily, everything was still here. And once she had everything set in place, and felt satisfied with how everything looked, she went to stand back by Kate. "Can I look now?" Kate inquired, a hint of curiousness in her voice.

"Go ahead." Max replied, smiling. Kate uncovered her eyes, and opened them, and a gasp escaped her lips. What she saw was a sight for sore eyes, really. Max had brought them to the lighthouse in Arcadia Bay, the one that overlooked the whole town. And the atmosphere felt just right, with the sun setting in the sky and what not. It was romantic to say the least, and Kate was immediately taken aback. Aside from the beautiful scenery, there was a blanket laid out, overlooking the water, and a small picnic basket sat atop it. She was honestly at a loss for words, so she just stood there with her mouth agape. "Uh, Earth to Kate?" Max called out, grabbing her girlfriend's hand and squeezing it.

"I love picnics!" Kate exclaimed, and then turned to Max. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess?" Max chuckled.

"Oh, Max, this is perfect!" Kate smiled, and pulled her girlfriend in for a bone crushing hug.

"So, you like it?" Max asked, hugging Kate back with an equal amount of fever. "Warren kind of helped me out a little." She admitted with a small smile. Inside, she was so happy, and all the nerves that she had before about this whole first date thing were washed away and replaced with relief. But deep down, she had always known that Kate was the easily impressed type, and it didn't take much to make her happy. Tonight was deeming to be a pretty good one after all, and the photographer was thankful for that.

"Like it?" Kate questioned. "Max, I love it!"

"I'm glad." Max said with a nod.

Kate then grabbed Max's camera, "Let's take a picture..." She trailed off, "To remember our first date." Max obliged and grabbed the camera from her girlfriend, only to snap a picture of them with the sunset in the background. Once that matter was taken care of, the two girls decided to sit down at their blanket and eat some of the food that Max had brought. It wasn't much, just some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, crunchy peanut butter because that's what Max's enjoyed, some cartons of chocolate milk, and some other snack foods like chips and cakes and what not. It wasn't much, but it was still perfect. And in those rare moments, Kate decided that she loved spending time with Max like this. When it was just the two of them, together, with nobody else around. It felt like they were the only girls in the world. "So..." Kate drawled, taking a sip of her chocolate milk.

"Yeah?" Max asked, looking up at her girlfriend through her lashes.

"I was thinking... Since you got to plan the first date, I get to do the second one." The blonde proposed. "I think I might already have an idea in mind."

Max shrugged, "That sounds okay with me." A sigh escaped her lips as she laid her head in Kate's lap. "It really is beautiful up here."

"Maybe this could be our spot." The blonde suggested as she began running her nimble fingers through Max's short hair. "We can come up here all the time, be alone with each other." She added with a small shrug.

Max smiled slightly, "Yeah, our spot." The silence passed between the two girls for a few moments, until Max began to laugh a little bit. "So how was our first date? Did I do good?" She inquired as she rolled over on the blanket to look at Kate. From what she had gathered from the day's events, Kate had really enjoyed herself and what not, and she was thankful for that. There was no stress on them to be together, they could just be themselves and become totally obsessed with each other for it.

Kate laughed, "Yeah, you did good. But it doesn't have to end yet..." She smiled.

"Movies back in my room?" Max suggested.

"Let's do it."


	20. I'm Right Here

Max sighed in content as the movie credits began to roll on her laptop screen. After their date, the two girls went back to Max's room to watch some movies, because they didn't want the date to end. "That was pretty good, huh, Kate?" Max inquired, but received no response from her girlfriend. Her blue eyes drifted to Kate, who was laying beside her, and it turned out that the blonde girl was asleep. Max chuckled to herself, Kate was so cute. She then closed her laptop and sat it on the floor. A small yawn escaped her lips, and pretty soon, Max felt tired herself. The brown haired girl thought it would be a good idea to get some sleep herself, so she turned over on her side, spooning Kate, and closed her eyes. It wasn't long before sleep overcame her.

It was late, when Kate was woken up by a crack of thunder, and then a flash of lightning from the window. She had always hated the rain, and just storms in general. And it sounded like it was pouring pretty hard outside at the moment. It took her a few moments to remember where in the world where she was, but then recollected that she was in Max's dorm room, and speaking of Max, the brunette girl was fast asleep right beside her, her arms wrapped around Kate's torso, and their legs intertwined together. She was so warm, and Kate was glad that she had fallen asleep during the movie.

Another crack of thunder could be heard, and Kate gasped in surprise. She tried to get as close to Max as possible, and then buried her head in her girlfriend's neck. Kate hoped the storm would go away soon, because there was no way she'd be able to sleep while it was thundering and lightning outside. The storms had always been a fear of hers. The blonde took a few deep breaths, inhaling Max's sweet scent to help her calm down. "Max..." She whispered lowly, tightening her vice grip on the other girl.

Max merely stirred and turned over, "Hm?" She inquired groggily.

"It's thundering." Kate whispered, her lips dangerously close to Max's ear.

Max's blue eyes fluttered open slightly, and she reached up to rub the sleep out of them. She remembered that when she and Kate met, the girl shared her fear of storms with the other. A smile pulled at the corner of Max's lips, and she turned over to look at Kate, "It's fine, Kate, I'm right here." She cooed to her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around her once more. Another rumble of thunder could be heard, and Max felt Kate jump in her arms. "Shh... I've got you. It's just thunder..." She trailed off, placing a kiss on Kate's forehead.

Kate gave a weak smile, "What would I do without you, Max?"

"Well, you'd be lonely, that's for sure." Max replied playfully. "But so would I, so it's okay."

"How long do you think it's going to rain?" Kate inquired, glancing over at Max's alarm clock. It was a little past four in the morning, and the rain still hadn't lessoned a single bit. Kate had lived in Arcadia Bay enough that she knew it could rain for hours at a time. It looked like she was going to be here with Max for a while, not that she minded at all. "Never mind," She added. "That was a dumb question." A laugh escaped her lips, as she looked over at Max who was staring intently at her. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Kate asked, her brown orbs boring in Max's blue ones. They were like oceans, and Kate wanted to drown in them, or get lost at sea. Whichever it was, she didn't care, as long as she was with her girlfriend, she'd be happy.

"Because I really want to kiss you right now." Max breathed out, sending a shiver down Kate's spine.

"Nobody's stopping you." Kate replied gently. The brunette smiled, and brought her head closer to Kate's slowly. She didn't know why, but she wanted to cherish this kiss, to really show Kate just what she meant to her. Slowly but surely, she could feel Kate's breath fanning across her face, and it smelled sweet. Finally, their lips came in contact with one another, and it was like a spark ignited between the two. Moving in total synchronization, creating a sweet friction that Max never wanted to go away. Deciding to be daring, she let her tongue sweep across Kate's lower lip, asking for entrance. She had never french kissed before, but it couldn't be too hard, right? Kate pulled away, "Max..." She trailed off, blushing shyly.

"I'm sorry." Max said immediately. "I should have asked."

"It's not that." Kate replied in a whisper as lighting flashed across the sky.

"What is it?"

"I've never... Done _that_ before." Kate answered, feeling a little bit embarrassed at the fact that she was so inexperienced with all of this.

"I've never done that either." The brunette replied with a small smile, "Don't feel bad." Kate didn't say anything else, but only pressed her lips back to her girlfriend's in another loving kiss. And this time it was Kate who managed to run her tongue across Max's bottom lip, begging for an entrance. Max let her in immediately, opening her mouth and letting their tongues wrestle for dominance. This kiss, felt different, but not because it was a tongue kiss either, it was because Max could really feel Kate. And really feel how much that her girlfriend cared for her. When they pulled away from each other, it was only because Max needed a breath of air. "It stopped raining." She smiled as she looked out the window.


	21. Blackwell Bullies

The first month of their relationship was nothing but complete and utter bliss. The two girls were inseparable from each other, nearly spending every waking hour together. Of course, they didn't mind it, they only liked to be around one another in that way. More kisses were shared, hand holding, cuddling, and Max only wondered how she could ever end up this lucky with a sweet girl like Kate.

Somehow, they had managed to keep their relationship a secret, with only Warren, Stella, and Alyssa knowing. Brooke was a little suspicious of things, but never questioned the two girls. Max was glad that school drama could be kept to a minimum around she and Kate, well, at least for now. Especially with Kate dealing with the bullies in the first place.

Soon it was December, the weather had begun to change in Arcadia Bay, but there was no snowfall just yet. Max and Kate's relationship only continued to go up throughout the school year. But the bullying had gotten worse. Every morning Kate woke up, there was a different message written on her little whiteboard out in the hallway. They poked fun at her religion, saying she was nothing but a goody two shoes for wearing a purity ring and going to church and what not. People talked about her, and Max didn't know why. Did everyone at Blackwell Academy have nothing better to do? It was petty teenage stuff, and both girls knew that, but still, it was a sort of nuisance that nobody wanted to deal with.

"Just ignore them." Max would tell her, "Who cares what they think."

"I know..." Kate said, but deep down, it bothered her. She was one of those people who valued other people's opinions about her. And despite the type of people at Blackwell, it still haunted her that they didn't like her. What had she done to them for them to just treat her so badly, to torment her, to make her feel unwanted? She was just glad she had Max in her life to take her mind off of things. God, she didn't know what she would do if the mean people at school found out that she and Max were girlfriends. What would they say about the lesbian christian? She could just hear it now.

Suddenly, a knock was at her door, pulling her out of her thoughts. The blonde walked over and answered it, knowing all to well that it was Max. "I'm tired of seeing you mope around all the time, let's go do something, forget about these assholes." Max said, smiling, and then grabbed Kate's hand. She was worried about Kate, and that's why she was going to do whatever it takes to make her feel better, to get these damn bullies off her mind. She wanted her girlfriend to be happy, carefree, like always, like she used to be before Victoria and Nathan and other vortex club members started being mean to her and making fun of her.

"What'd you have in mind?" Kate asked.

"Two Whales diner, my treat." Max grinned in return. "You're my girlfriend, so you have to go." She said before pulling Kate out of her dorm. The two girls then headed outside, and to the bus stop where they would take it into town to get to the diner. Kate loved that Max could take her mind off of just about anything. She was forever grateful for the brown haired girl. Heck, she didn't know how she would have survived this year at Blackwell if it wasn't for her superhero, Max Caulfield. It was obvious that she really was something else; a force to be reckoned with.

In their usual booth, Max and Kate ate breakfast for dinner. Hot cakes and bacon, of course with a cup of coffee. The diner had somewhat become their place of serenity, safety, as well as the lighthouse. Well, the lighthouse was more for being able to make out with each other and not get caught. That had been Max's bright idea, and Kate followed along with it. As long as she got to be around Max, got to feel her lips on her own, and just be together, in the way that couples were supposed to be together, it was all too worth it. They never fought, unless it was playful, and they just learned from each other, growing and developing with help from one another.

"So, what should we do this weekend?" Kate inquired, dipping a piece of her pancake in the warm syrup.

Max shrugged, "I think we should go to the movies, there's this really sick zombie movie about to come out."

Kate wrinkled her nose, "You know how I feel about apocalypse movies, Max."

The brunette pouted, "Aw come on Kate, please, for me?" She begged, causing a smile to pull on the edge of Kate's lips. They had been on so many different dates by now, but they never got bored. Dinner, movies, sleep overs, shopping, so much stuff they had done together, and yet they still had so much more stuff to do. It was crazy, really. "Please, please, please?" Max begged, giving the pouty face knowing Kate wouldn't be able to resist it. That was another thing with them; no matter how ridiculous the request was, Max always got her way despite Kate's protests.

"Fine, but you owe me." Kate replied, grinning.

"Of course my lady, nothing but the best." Max said, grabbing Kate's hand. They continued to eat in playful banter and chit chat, when Max's phone started to buzz with a text message. She looked down to check it, and saw that it was Warren. A sigh escaped her lips, what could he possibly want? He knew she was on a date with Kate. But she opened the text anyway, and what she saw made her skin flush and her heartbeat speed up. What could this mean? What happened? She knew Warren worried about Kate too, but what in the hell was happening?

_Whatever you do, do not let Kate get on the school website._


	22. And Now Everyone Knows

"Who was that?" Kate inquired, taking another bite of her pancake. Max had never lied to Kate before, and she didn't want to start doing it now, but hell, Warren seemed pretty sure about that little warning, so Max figured that it would be okay for her to avoid the truth for now. As long as it kept Kate safe, that was all that mattered, right? On the inside, she felt bad, and she was worried about what was so bad to be on that website. She opened her mouth to speak, but her phone buzzed again, and she saw it was Warren once more. If he kept repeatedly texting her like this, this was definitely a level ten emergency because Max was assuming the worst.

"It's, uh, Warren." Max answered, looking down at her phone once more. _I'm serious Max, don't you let her. _This text worried Max even more. What the hell was going on? "He just wants to know what we're doing." She said simply, a lie, before texting him back a quick reply. She had asked him what was going on. _Why? What's up? _Max hated the feeling of lying to Kate, but she didn't want Kate to get upset at something after she was already in a weak state of mind. "I told him we were stuffing our faces with pancakes." The brunette shot Kate a quick smile, before going back to her food.

"Oh." Kate said, "Tell him I said hi." She grinned, and then sipped her coffee.

"I will." Max replied, and stuffed her phone back into her messenger bag. She was not going to let this ruin her date with Kate. They would finish eating dinner, and then Max would probably have to get Kate to stay with her that night so she could make sure she didn't get on the school website. Of everything that could happen, drama was not something that the couple needed. Kate was already trying to fend herself off from bullies. She didn't need anymore things added to her stress. And Max knew Kate, she knew that the christian girl would make a big deal over whatever was happening at the moment. That was just the way Kate was; she over exaggerated the little things. "Stay with me tonight?" Max inquired, grabbing Kate's hand.

"Always." Kate smiled in reply.

Max said nothing, and continued to eat her food. That's when her phone buzzed once more, and it was Warren. _Call me, now. _The brunette didn't hesitate. "I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back." She said and stood up, practically running to the small bathroom in the diner. She went into the stall, and shut the door, then pulled her phone out to dial Warren's number. She waited a few seconds, and he picked up on the fourth ring. "Warren, what the fuck is going on?" She asked, intensity and urgency in her voice.

"It's bad Max." Warren replied. "I don't know who or how they did it, but somebody posted pictures of you and Kate all over the school website. It's everywhere, and a lot of people have seen it already. Brooke and I tried to get them taken down, but the coding is weird, I can't figure out where they came from. Has Kate seen them yet? You know how she is..." He was rambling, and there was a ringing in Max's ears. She didn't know what to say, she didn't know how to process all of this. It was the worst possible thing that could happen. "Max? Max? You there?" Warren asked again.

"Pictures?" She snapped out of it. "Pictures of what?"

He sighed, "You guys together. Holding hands, kissing, whatever." He added.

"So somebody had to have been following us?" She inquired.

"Bingo."

"Fuck."

"Are you going to tell Kate?" He asked, a pause in his voice.

Max scoffed, "I have to, I can't lie to her." She answered. "I know she probably won't take it too well though."

"I'll keep trying to take them down, and I'll let you know if I make any progress. Uh, if you and Kate need anything just let me know, alright?" Warren offered.

"Thanks Warren, I'll talk to you later." Max said with a sigh, and hung her phone up.

She sat down on the toilet lid, placing her head in her hands. What the fuck? How the hell did this happen? She pulled out her phone once more and got on the browser, going to the Blackwell website immediately. And sure enough, Warren was right, there they were. The pictures of she and Kate, looking so happy together. There were so many shares though, and the captions on the pictures made Max want to puke. _Arcadia Gays! __Max + Kate 4ever! Lesbians at Blackwell? God loves lesbians! _It was all too much, and her head was pounding at the moment. The only thing running through it was how she was going to show/tell Kate about this without totally breaking her girlfriend's heart. And the other thing running through her head was who the hell could have done this? It had to have been the people who were bullying Kate.

"Max?" It was Kate's voice who brought Max back. "Are you okay? You've been in here for a while." She had wandered into the bathroom.

Max flushed the toilet and left the stall, "Uh yeah, I'm fine. My stomach just feels a little upset." And that wasn't a total lie.

Kate smiled, and grabbed her girlfriend's hand, "Then let's get home so I can take care of you." So they paid for their dinner, left a tip for the waitress, and took the bus back to Blackwell. Max couldn't help but to feel like everyone was staring at them on their journey back to the school. This was going to be hell, and now she needed to figure out a way to tell Kate. This was the worst thing that could have happened to them. They weren't supposed to be out yet; they were supposed to keep their relationship on the down low, and now, all of this crap was happening way too fast.


	23. Can We Talk?

"Here, drink this." Kate ordered as she handed Max a very small cup of tea. Max obliged and sipped gingerly on the tea. Her heart ached like no other, but she was still feigning the stomachache so that she could buy some time to figure out how she was going to tell all of this new stuff to Kate. "Is it working?" Kate inquired. "Your stomach still hurt?" She pestered, looking down at Max lying in bed. As soon as the two girls returned to Max's room, Kate went into doctor mode and made her girlfriend lie down immediately.

Max nodded, "I'm fine Kate, really," She insisted, grabbing the blonde's hand and pulling her down to sit on the edge of the bed beside her. "Just sit down, relax." A weak smile formed at her lips. "You're the best nurse ever." She said, stroking Kate's hand gently. A grin formed on the blonde's lips and she leaned down to peck Max on the cheek. Max knew she was running out of time, and she wasn't going to be able to beat around the bush any longer. They were dancing around the subject, walking on eggshells, and she thought that maybe, just maybe she should just come straight out with it and tell Kate the truth.

"Do you need anything else, Max?" Kate questioned, her brown eyes soft.

Max shook her head, and sat up in the bed, "Kate, can we talk?"

"Of course." Kate replied, and shifted her weight in the bed so she was sitting in front of her girlfriend. She noticed Max's sad demeanor, and knew immediately that something was going on. "What's wrong?" She inquired, fear striking her if only slightly. She hoped that everything was okay, after all, when something bad happened, Kate was a pessimist, and she always expected the worst possible scenario for any situation. And this, was another one of those times. Her heartbeat picked up, and she tried to keep her thoughts calm, but she was starting to overthink everything.

Max sighed, how would she say this? "Something happened..." She began. "Something bad."

"Okay...?"

"And before I tell you what it is, you have to promise me that everything is going to be okay." Max murmured, grabbing Kate's hand and squeezing it. She wished she didn't have to do this, she wished that there could have been another way. But all signs were pointing to it; there was no way she could avoid it, no way she could get around it. The brunette knew that this was inevitable, unavoidable, and had to be done.

Kate shook her head, "I can't do that Max." She said hesitantly. "I can't promise you what I don't know."

"I understand." Max replied. She the grabbed her phone from the table beside her bed, and loaded the school website. And there they were, the pictures staring her right in the face once more, breaking her heart because she knew Kate would be devastated. "Are you ready?" Max inquired, glancing up and looking into Kate's brown eyes, her own blue ones a mixture of sadness and hesitation. The blonde was confused, but nodded nonetheless, bracing herself for whatever Max was about to show her. She was thinking the worst, that way she wouldn't be upset. "Somebody has been following us..." Max trailed off, and handed Kate her phone. And it that moment, it felt like time had stopped.

Kate scrolled through the pictures of she and Max together, hugging, kissing, holding hands, sharing secrets, being all cute and what not together. At the school, at the diner, and the lighthouse, the place that was supposed to be just for them. She felt sick to her stomach in that moment, and the pictures weren't even what made her upset. It was the fact that somebody purposely violated she and Max's privacy, and put it all out there for the world to see. It was revolting, and the captions below the pictures just made everything about a thousand times worse. Kate's eyes filled with tears, and she tried to blink them back quickly. She knew Max hated seeing her upset. But this was the moment she had feared the most; they had been exposed.

"Max..." Kate trailed off, her voice wavering with imminent sadness. "Who would do this?" She inquired.

"I don't know, Kate." Max sighed as her girlfriend gave her back her phone. It had to have been the bullies, somebody wanting to embarrass Max or Kate. Max didn't care much for it though, but she knew that this would tear Kate apart from the seams. "But we'll find out, I promise, okay? I won't let this go." She added, her voice soft, unrecognizable even. This was going to be a test in their relationship; one that could prove that they really could get through everything.

"How long have they been on there?" Kate asked.

"Just today." Max answered in a quip.

"Okay." Kate nodded. "Everything's going to be okay though, right Max?" She asked fearfully, but deep down, she knew it wouldn't. Blackwell was not a nice place, people bullied, people teased, and there was no way that you could ever put a stop to it. Kate knew this from first hand experience, and now everything was going to become worse. She had put up walls, grown thick skin, just to avoid the teases and insults and comments, and it seemed like she was going to have to have to do that all over again, become even stronger to be able to ignore this, to just push it all aside.

"You just can't let this get to you, okay Kate?" Max replied, being honest with her girlfriend. "If you give in, it will eat you alive." She added, her blue eyes blazing as she stared at her girlfriend, "But we can get through this, together. The only thing that matters is you and I are happy. It doesn't matter what other people think, okay? They're all dumb anyway." She cracked a smile in an attempt to get Kate to grin in return, and it worked, slightly, but both of them were painfully aware of the imminent doom to come ahead.


	24. Unwanted Attention

The whispers and stares only began to get worse as time passed. Even after Warren had managed to get the pictures taken down off the website, people still talked about Max and Kate. People still spread rumors about them. They were the talk of Blackwell Academy for being the only openly gay couple. People would wait for them to get out of class just so they could see them holding hands, or walking together, or just being together for that matter. They had attracted an audience, and it was a nuisance to the both of them. And Max could tell that it was weakening Kate; she was getting worse as each day passed.

Every morning when she woke up, a new message would be written on both of their boards. Max didn't mind it, she only found it annoying. But she could tell how much it tore Kate up inside that everyone was thinking all these negative things about her. When Kate went to shower, the girls would talk about her in there. Saying she wasn't a real christian because she was a lesbian, and that's what hurt Kate the most. They weren't only bashing her relationship, but they were bashing her religion too, and she didn't take well to that.

But her façade never fell. Kate put on a fake smile for Max, lied to her girlfriend about everything that was floating around in her mesh of a headspace, just so that she wouldn't be worried sick about her every waking moment of the day. But Max knew better; she knew her girlfriend was sad, she just didn't know that she was almost borderline depressed. So that's why she tried everything in her power to make her girlfriend happy. They went on twice as many dates, had twice as many sleepovers, scheduled plans with their other friends like Warren, Stella, and Alyssa. Nothing seemed to work though. Of course, Kate was always happy when she was with Max, but deep down, there was that lingering feeling of disappointment, the feeling that she was fucking up.

Kate didn't like that feeling; she didn't like feeling sad all the time. She didn't like feeling different, or that she didn't belong. And even church didn't help the poor girl, if anything, it only made her feel worse. She was sinning, with the lying and being depressed and what not. She couldn't take it; her sanity was going away piece by piece, and Kate didn't know how much longer she could take this. She didn't know if she was strong enough; and she knew that Max should definitely not have to be strong enough for the both of them.

"What do you want for Christmas?" Max asked Kate, pulling the girl out of her thoughts as they sat at the diner, eating once more. It seemed as though Kate drifted in her thoughts a lot these days. And Max tried hard to keep her out of them. Overthinking things was always the worst. It was mid December; a fresh layer of snow on the ground outside Arcadia Bay, and Blackwell was about to go on winter break, letting the students be free for a few weeks. It was nice, not having to go to classes and what not. And Max knew that she could spend all that time with Kate, despite if her girlfriend was sad or not.

Kate shrugged as she played with her food on her plate, not feeling very hungry these days, "I'm sure I'll love whatever you get me." She answered.

Max sighed, "Come on, it's our first Christmas together, there has to be something you want."

"What do you want?" Kate questioned in return, changing the subject.

"For you to be happy." Max answered in a heartbeat. "High school is almost over Kate, I know we can do it, we can make it."

She liked Max's enthusiasm, but if she was being honest with herself, the blonde was sick and tired of false hope. It just wasn't working. Kate shook her head, "And what about after high school? Huh?" She asked, looking up at Max. "People are going to be like this everywhere we go. We're not normal, we'll draw attention to ourselves wherever we go." She added, her brown eyes softening if only slightly. She couldn't take that; she couldn't be the center of attention all the time. And she knew she was speaking the truth about this subject. There were so many people against same sex relationships, she couldn't take it.

"People are changing Kate." Max answered simply, smiling halfheartedly.

Kate sighed, her brown eyes darting down to her plate of untouched food, "I wish I could be like you, Max. Just brush it all off... But I can't, and I'm sorry. I know you want to have fun and do stuff all the time, but I'm just sensitive, okay? I can't handle all this like you can, I can't take people talking about me all the time! Especially when I did nothing wrong! All I did was try to be happy, and now look where I am." She rambled on, not being able to look Max directly in the eye anymore.

Max was speechless as she stared at Kate with her baby blue eyes, "I'm sorry Kate." She spoke gently, reaching across the table to grab her girlfriend's hand. She hadn't heard Kate rant like that in awhile, but deep down, she was glad she was doing it. Kate needed to get this stuff off her chest so it wasn't eating her alive inside. "I'm just trying to be supportive, you know?"

A sigh escaped her lips, "I know, I'm sorry." She apologized. "And I didn't mean to go off on you like that."

"No, I'm glad you did." Max answered honestly. "You need to talk about this stuff."

"Are you ready to go?" Kate asked, just wanting to get back to her dorm and go to sleep.

"You're done already? You didn't even touch your food." The brunette frowned, taking notice of her girlfriend's poor eating habits that had been taking place these past few weeks. Her plate looked like it hadn't even been touched, and she hated the fact that Kate was doing this to herself.

"I just want to get to bed." Kate replied, and stood up, ready to leave.

"Okay."


	25. Fix This Unfixable Mess

It wasn't long, until Kate was fed up with everything. She and Max had taken the bus home from the diner after their dinner, Max kissed her goodnight, and the two went their separate ways. Kate into her room, and Max into hers, and Kate did just as she said she would. She crawled into her bed, and laid there for hours and hours, until she finally decided that sleep wasn't going to come any time soon. That's why she got on her laptop to check everything. She had been avoiding the internet ever since those pictures of she and Max were on there.

_Kate,  
Your father and I are worried about you, and so are your sisters. What is that school doing to you? Now you're a lesbian? When did this happen? Did somebody force you? You know as well I as do that being gay is a sin, and I don't think you want to burn in hell for the rest of eternity. We saw the pictures on the school website, people at church are asking about you. Have you strayed from the path, Kate? Maybe after you graduate we can all take a little church retreat, just you, me, and dad. Please Kate, let me know everything is okay. Love, Mom._

_Heya Kate,  
Hey Kate, dad here. Just wanted to let you know that your mom is freaking out about this stuff. Maybe you should give her a call and let her know what's going on? Heck, I'm not even really sure what's going on. But whatever it is, just know that I will always love you Kate, no matter what lifestyle you choose. And God loves you too, always remember that. Don't let other people discourage you from living your life, because it is yours, and you only get one. Anyway, just thought I'd let you know what's up, please email us back soon. Your sisters and everyone are asking about you. Love you, Dad._

Kate read the emails over and over and over again, practically memorizing what each of them said. And those weren't the only ones. Her mother had sent multiple emails, asking why she hadn't replied yet, and Kate couldn't take it anymore. It was nearing three o'clock in the morning, and her head was pounding, her eyes were bloodshot, and all she did was sit there and stare at her laptop screen for what seemed like an eternity. This was all a mistake; everything was a big mistake. This was never supposed to happen. She wished she could go back in time and never meet Max Caulfield.

No, never mind, she didn't want to go back in time. This was not Max's fault, none of this was. It was all her own fault; it was her fault that she was gay. This was her life, this was her sickness. And along the way, she fell in love with the most beautiful person that this planet had to offer. Max was her own personal angel, and she didn't want to ever let her go. But this had been stretched to its limits. Would the hate ever end? Would her parents ever stop questioning her choices. What would become of her life if she let it continue? People would ask questions, people would stare, and people would judge, and this is what Kate was trying to explain to Max earlier.

The silence was deafening, it was making Kate's ears ring, and she was alone with her thoughts. Overthinking was making her sick, and before she knew it, tears were pouring from her beautiful brown eyes, and she was trying her hardest to muffle her sobs, but it was to no avail. So Kate cried, and cried, and cried, and she poured out all her emotions right there, finally breaking down. All the pressure got to her, and now she was done. Done with everything. She wanted Max, but she knew that Max wouldn't be able to fix this unfixable mess. Kate had to fix it herself, and she knew exactly just how.

She opened her laptop up once more, and pulled the emails back up. She typed slow and steady on her keyboard, a short response that she knew would piss her parents off. _Hey mom and dad, I'm fine, don't worry about anything. Blackwell is really great, I'll send you guys some pictures in the mail soon. _Kate stared at those simple words through her tears for what felt like forever. She couldn't believe she was lying to her parents like that. She had never lied to her parents, until now, until finally she pressed send. This was it, this was the end.

Kate had always been taught that suicide was the coward's way out, and she was still a firm believer in that. But it wasn't wrong; that was how she viewed herself; a coward. Someone who had no backbone, a weakling, a mere sheep, waiting to be flocked. And she was tired of this; tired of all of this. The blonde closed her computer once more, and walked over to her dresser. She opened the first drawer, and pulled out the bottle of sleeping pills she had come across long ago. She had found them in her mother's dresser, and kept them for emergencies a while ago, and now, she just hoped they would work. Her sobs grew louder, and her hands shook as she poured the pills into her hand, before throwing her head back and taking them.

The bottle with the remaining pills fell to the floor, and Kate stumbled to her bed, getting in it, and getting under the covers. She thought of Max in her final hours, and she knew that this would absolutely break her girlfriend's heart. But this wasn't a bad thing, this was a good thing. Now Max wouldn't have to be weighed down by Kate, she could move on, and be happy with someone else. And Kate just hoped and prayed that everything after she was gone would be okay. Her parents wouldn't have to worry about having a gay daughter, her friends wouldn't have to worry about cheering her up all the time, and Max, well, Max wouldn't have to even concern herself with Kate at all anymore.

The blonde soon grew sleepy, and her brown eyes closed as she floated off into a dream like state.


	26. Room 222

When Max woke up the next morning for class, something was off. It was eerily quiet in her room, besides the soft indie music spilling from the background. And she had no morning text from Kate. Somehow she knew that she had upset her girlfriend at dinner yesterday. Max had to remind herself that Kate was too much of a gentle soul for this world; too innocent, too pure. She knew that the blonde wasn't just going to be able to brush everything off. She had a kind heart, and that was a rarity these days. Max sighed, and got out of bed, turning her radio off, and she got dressed for class quickly. Always going with a simple jeans and t-shirt. She just really wanted to see Kate; to apologize to her girlfriend.

Gathering all her items for the day, she walked across the hall to room 222, and knocked on the door hoping for an immediate answer just like Kate always did. She waited and waited, only to receive none. Maybe Kate had overslept? Max knocked on the door again, "Kate, it's me..." She said, leaning up against the door. "I'm really sorry about yesterday... I was just trying to cheer you up. Do you forgive me?" She rambled on, talking through the door. But the brunette still never received a response from her girlfriend. Maybe she had left already? Went to class without Max? But Max knew better, she knew Kate wouldn't leave without telling her first.

In the bottom of her stomach, Max had an uneasy feeling, and she didn't want to go into Kate's room. But what other choice did she have? She had to make sure everything was okay. So, the photography braced herself, inhaling a deep breath, and she opened Kate's door, thanking her lucky stars that it was actually unlocked. And what she saw when she opened the door, made her heart stop completely. Max stood in the doorway, the door completely open, with her mouth agape, her blue eyes unsure of where to look. Whether it be at the pills laying in the floor, or Kate's now lifeless body all disheveled in the bed.

This wasn't happening, it had to be a dream. Yeah, that was probably it. Because there was no way in hell that Kate would just leave without any sort of warning and what not. But Max knew better; there was a warning. Kate's depression had been a sign, and Max knew that she should have gotten her girlfriend some help long ago. And now, it was too late. She had gone and done the unthinkable, she had taken the pills, attempted to leave this world, and she might have succeeded. Max just hoped that she wasn't too late. When had she done it? Right when they got back from dinner? Or had she waited?

It felt like time had stopped, or at least was in slow motion when Max finally screamed Kate's name.

Tears blinded her immediately, and she ran over to the bed, grabbing her girlfriend forcefully. _Oh god, her body was so cold. _Max didn't know what to do, she didn't know what to think. Was she dead already? Long gone from this cruel world? Somebody must have heard the brunette scream, because before you knew it, Brooke was standing at Kate's door as well, eyes reading horror. "I'm... I'm gonna go get help Max." She managed to get out, before sprinting down the hallway to find somebody, anybody who could do this. Or undo it, rather.

And Max, she pulled out her phone and dialed 911, hoping it wasn't too late to save Kate's life. Her blue eyes darted around quickly, not sure where she should let them rest, as she listened to the dial tone on her cell phone. One thing was for sure, Max knew that she couldn't look at Kate right now. In her pajamas, underneath the covers, so pale, so cold, so lifeless, _so dead_. It was the complete opposite of what she actually was. Her heart ached for her girlfriend; no one should feel like they have to resort to suicide.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"I'd like to report a suicide."

"Where?

"Blackwell Academy."

"We'll be there soon."

After that, everything was a blur in time. The ambulance arrived shortly after, paramedics invading Kate's room, barging into her personal space while Max just stood there and watched them take her baby away. She was numb as she watched them pick up Kate's lifeless body out of the bed, put her on a stretcher, and carry her away. And nobody knew if she was dead or alive. Nobody knew if they could save her. She wasn't allowed to go to the hospital with her, it was a rule or something. But they took her phone number, so they could call her and let her know everything about Kate. And by now, a crowd had formed around room 222, people watching, murmuring and just being nosy.

Max turned around after they had taken Kate, and just glared at everyone standing there. "You did this to her." She managed to get out through her tears. "This is your fault." The photographer decided that she wasn't going to go to class today. She went right back across the hall to her room, slammed the door, locked it, and fell face first into her bed, screaming as loud as she could into her pillow. It could be hours before she heard anything about Kate, so she did the only thing she knew how to do. She turned on some sad music, laid in her bed, and stared at her phone for hours and hours. Questions taunted her mind relentlessly, and she just wanted Kate to be okay.

Max wanted to see her smile, hear her laugh, she wanted to kiss her, hug her, hold in her in her fragile arms and never let go. The only thing she regretted at the moment was not telling Kate that she loved her. And she vowed that if Kate made it out of this, made it through, it would be the first thing that left her lips when she saw those beautiful brown eyes again.


	27. The Phone Call

The day came to a close quickly, Max unable to leave her bed for even just a moment. And she couldn't think about anything but Kate. Her mind centered around the usually cheerful girl. The hospital had failed to even call her today and let her know anything, and she contemplated calling them, but decided against it. Even if she did call them, what did she expect? They probably didn't have any new information for her. She wondered if they were able to save Kate, able to make her heart beat again, make her take those beautiful breaths of life. She had cried more today than she had in her whole life, and she just wanted Kate. She wanted her girlfriend to be here with her, holding her, telling her that everything was going to be okay. But Max didn't even know if everything was going to be okay.

It was nearing nighttime now, the sun just setting on the horizon, and Max still couldn't sleep a wink, and she didn't feel like doing anything else. School and everything else in her life were put on hold, at least until she knew that Kate was going to be okay. That's when she got a knock at her door, and it took nearly all the strength she had in her body to stand up and go answer it. Much to her surprise, it was Warren. And he looked just as bad as Max did, eyes all bloodshot, hair a mess and disheveled. But that was to be expected, after all, Kate was his friend too. He was probably hurting just as much. "Hey Max." He managed to get out. "Can I come in?" He inquired.

Max nodded, and opened her door wider to let her friend in, "How you holding up?" She asked, her voice breaking.

Warren shrugged, "I probably feel about the same as you do."

"I'm sorry." Max replied.

Warren sat down on the bed, putting his face in his hands, "I just couldn't be alone anymore, you know? So I thought I'd come visit you."

"Well thanks." Max replied, sitting beside her friend. "I could use the company anyway." She added, and then the two sat there in silence, just lost and lost in their sea of thoughts. Unable to speak of the unthinkable. What if Kate hadn't made it? What if she was already dead and the hospital just couldn't confirm it yet? All these questions floated unanswered in the air, and Max just wished she could shut her brain off for a while to get some peace and quiet. "Do you think she's okay?" She then inquired, breaking the silence with her voice only above a whisper.

"Honestly..." Warren trailed off, "I don't know, Max."

"I wish they would call."

"Me too."

The two didn't sleep at all, they couldn't, not with everything that was going on. So instead, they sat up all night, watching comedy movies on Max's laptop. They tried to lighten the mood, but it didn't really work. Not with Kate's life in question. And before Warren and Max knew it, the sun was coming up, signaling it was morning. They had stayed up all night that night. Just being there for each other, and watching the movies. And when it was finally considered early enough, the two cut class and went to go get breakfast and coffee. Max needed it; after all, she felt so groggy after sitting up all night with Warren. "I don't know how much longer I can take this..." Max trailed off, sighing angrily as they sat there, in the cafeteria, sipping on their coffee.

Warren sighed, "It should be soon, Max."

Her cell phone laid in the middle of the table between them, but it remained silent for the time being. Ever so often, Max's blue eyes would drift to it, praying for it to ring. And she would remember that there was a picture of she and Kate as her lock screen, holding hands and walking together. Warren had taken the picture, and it made her want to cry, because she might not ever see her girlfriend happy and alive ever again. She was about to say fuck it, and go back to her room to go to sleep, but that's when her phone started ringing and vibrating, a random number on the screen.

"Oh god... Oh god..." She almost started hyperventilating because she knew it was them.

"Answer it!" Warren nearly exclaimed.

The brunette shook her head, and shoved the phone towards Warren, "I can't. You do it."

Warren nodded, and picked the phone up, answering it and holding it to his ear. Max only watched with careful eyes at he sat there and listened to every word they had to say. When he was done listening, he took the phone away from his ear, and handed it to Max. "They want to talk to you." He said simply, and she gave a solemn nod before taking the phone in her shaking hands, and held it up to her ear. She held her breath, waiting for the hospital people to speak, and she could feel tears welling in the corner of her eyes, and she didn't know how long she could hold them in.

"Is this Max Caulfield?"

"Speaking."

"Kate Marsh is stable, but very weak..." She heard the hospital people say, and as soon as she heard that, she let out a breath of relief, and the tears flowed out of her ocean blue eyes. "We managed to save her, and you should be able to come visit in a day or so. Her parents have already been here to take care of everything..." The hospital lady continued to speak, but Max didn't care about anything else she had to say. As long as she was able to go visit her baby Kate, then everything was going to be okay. But Max knew that Kate had a long road of recovery ahead of her, and that she would need support more than anything. Max was more than ready though, she would be there for her girlfriend no matter what.

"Okay, thank you." She managed to get out, and then hung up the phone.

"Well?" Warren questioned. "What'd they say?"

"She's alive."


	28. Three Little Words

When Max was finally able to go and see Kate a few days later, she invited Warren, but he declined, saying that Max should go alone and that he'd see Kate when she came back to Blackwell. He assumed that she wouldn't want people to see her like that, weak, in the hospital, so he gave her the privacy that she deserved. And as soon as the brunette had permission from the hospital, she didn't hesitate to take the bus straight there. Flowers and a teddy bear in hand, Max wasn't sure how this was going to go. She knew for sure she'd probably cry, but she hoped she wouldn't make Kate upset.

Her heart thumped hard in her chest, nervousness pooling in her gut. Never in a million years did she think she'd be going to the hospital to visit her girlfriend who was on suicide watch. But that was the thing about life; you never knew what was going to happen. Whatever, despite everything Max was feeling inside, she managed to push it aside and focus all her attention on Kate.

The bus was nearing the hospital just on the outskirts of Arcadia Bay, and Max felt like something was constricting around her insides. She felt like she couldn't breathe because all of the anxiety was trapping her, filling up her lungs so she couldn't get the air she so desperately needed. And then the bus stopped, and it took every fiber in her being to lift her legs to walk. They felt like jelly, wobbly and unstable, as they carried her through the hospital doors. This hospital wasn't very large, well, at least compared to the few other hospitals Max had been to. The photographer walked to the receptionist's desk, and gave Kate's full name. Once Max had a room number, she found herself walking painfully slow through the brightly lit hallways. Her feet clicking and clacking on the white tiled floors.

Would Kate even be happy to see her? Max had so many unanswered questions she wanted to ask Kate, but she didn't want to overwhelm her girlfriend. Especially now, she was in her most vulnerable state. She was so fragile, and weak, and emotionally unstable. It was going to be hell, putting these pieces back together and what not, helping Kate, fixing Kate. But Max didn't mind, because she loved Kate more than she loved life itself, and she would do anything for that girl. Her breaths were coming in short pants, and she tried to take a few deep ones to calm herself down. And then there she was, standing in front of Kate's door. It was shut, but you could hear the small hospital TV playing in the background behind it.

Max knocked on the door gently, but received no answer from Kate. So she pushed the door open gently, and what she saw was enough to make her heart split in two. "Kate?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, afraid she'd break the blonde if she spoke any louder than that. She laid in the hospital bed, blankets up to her abdomen, and she looked so pale, so weak, so lifeless. It didn't look like Kate. Her face was thin from not eating, and she had dark circles underneath her bloodshot eyes. "Kate, it's me." Max spoke again, taking small steps to get closer to the small hospital bed. Kate turned her head and gave a weak smile, but it still didn't look like her. "Can I sit down?" Max gestured to the edge of the bed, and Kate nodded.

"Can you help me sit up?" Kate inquired, stretching her arms out for Max to grab, "Go slow, I get dizzy really easy." Her voice was groggy and scratchy for not talking for so long. Max helped her girlfriend sit up in the bed, and she sat down on the edge of it. Her blue eyes drank Kate in, because it felt like fucking forever since she'd seen her girlfriend. "Is that for me?" Kate asked, nodding towards the teddy bear and flowers. Hell, Max had forgotten that she'd ever brought them.

"Yeah." Max nodded, giving the blonde the items. Kate sat them on the nightstand beside her hospital bed, and it was silent between the two. It wasn't an awkward silence, but more like they were just drinking the moment in, trying to adjust to this certain situation. It wasn't until Kate cleared her throat when the silence was broken. "Kate, I have to tell you something before we talk about anything else." Max said abruptly, grabbing her girlfriend's fragile hand, savoring the feeling of smooth skin on skin. She had went over this conversation again and again in her head while she laid in bed at night, waiting to see Kate again, she knew that this had to be done. This had to be something to be said, a conversation to be had.

"What is it?" Kate inquired.

Max sighed, unsure if she should just come out with it. "This past week, my life was an absolute hell, and I was trying to figure out why. And then I finally realized it was because I thought I lost you, for good. Kate, when I found you like that... In your room, my whole world just came crashing down on me. And being away from you, waiting to come visit you, just made me realize that I love you Kate. I love you so so so much and I can't live without you, okay?" Max rambled on and on, her face heating up from saying those words, and saying that she loved Kate. Her blue eyes burned into Kate's brown ones, "So you can't leave me, ever, not anymore. I'm in too deep." She added, a smile pulling at the corner of her lips.

Kate was trying so hard not to tear up, "You really mean all that?"

"Every single word." Max replied, not missing a beat.

The blonde smiled, and pulled Max into a tight hug. "I love you too Max." She whispered.

Max nodded, wrapping her arms tightly around Kate's small frame, "And when you're ready, we can talk about all of this, okay?"


	29. You're All I Have

Kate was released from the hospital within a week. And the first thing she and Max did was go to the diner and order some much needed breakfast. The blonde had missed the taste of sweet pancakes on her tongue. She was so sick of gross hospital food, and real food was just what she needed to help her feel better. And the next day that she was free, she and Max went to church together. There was a small one just outside of Arcadia Bay, and Max insisted that Kate go. "Are you sure?" The blonde girl had questioned her girlfriend. Albeit, Kate had wanted to go to church for a long time, she didn't want Max to go if the girl was feeling uncomfortable.

Max nodded, "I'm sure, okay? You need this." She replied, and that was that. But Kate was glad that Max was being so supportive and so great about this. Kate needed church, she needed to feel like her old self again, and for the most part she did. Now it was just the simple tasks of getting her disheveled life back together. And Max was there, helping her pick up the a strewn pieces along the way. So they sat in church together, listening to the wise words, and Kate cried, but it made her feel so much better. And the way Max held her hand, and rubbed her back helped quite a lot too.

They still hadn't talked about it, but Max wasn't going to pressure Kate about any of it. She'd let the girl confess on her own time. In the mean time, Max was just glad that she got her sweet little Kate back. The Kate that was as radiant as the sun, the Kate that always smiled, the Kate that loved to draw and laugh, and just loved life. Max was ecstatic to have that Kate back. And Kate had promised her that she was never going away ever again. The two girls were back to normal; just like it was when they first started dating at the beginning of the school year.

She returned to Blackwell, and the school was unusually quiet upon her return. Most of the students were surprised that she had even made it back, that she was even still alive. There were flowers and little notes and messages placed around her door, around room 222, and some of them were genuine. But most of them were so two faced and lies, and Kate hated that. The whispers about she and Max stopped, which was good, but Kate was infuriated at that. It only took a suicide attempt for people to stop talking crap about her? That was pitiful. She was so behind on her school work, all she and Max did was stay hoarded up in her dorm room trying to catch up on all the assignments that she missed. Of course, they got Warren's help too, what with him being a big nerd and all that, and he was so excited to see Kate as well.

"It's good to have you back, Kate." He told her, hugging her tightly.

"It's good to be back." Kate confirmed with a smile.

"We all missed you here." Warren replied.

"Yeah, but nobody missed me more than my bunny." Kate joked, remembering just how happy he was that she was back in her dorm room and that everything was all going back to normal. Even if Max had taken care of the bunny while Kate was away, he was still happy that his mommy was back. Things were turning out quite alright, and weeks passed before everything was completely back to normal. Max and Kate could finally breathe again, they could finally be happy again. And there were only a few months of school left, and then it would be time for graduation, and then everybody would be moving on with their lives. They would be adults, free to do whatever they chose.

It was a cool spring night, and Max and Kate were lying together in Max's dorm, in Max's bed. They were watching a movie, curled up together, Max running her hands through her girlfriend's long blonde hair. It was a content moment. But Max was lost in her thoughts, still wondering why Kate had never talked about the suicide attempt yet. Max had questions, although she didn't want to bother Kate with them, she really wanted them answered so they'd get out of her mind for good. "Kate?" Max spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. "Did you try to kill yourself because of me?" She inquired, not being able to look at Kate.

The blonde's breathing slowed, "No." She answered, laying unmoving in Max's arms. "Why would you think that?"

Max shrugged, "It's just been bothering me..." She answered honestly. "I knew you weren't happy."

"But it wasn't because of you." Kate defended. "You made me very happy, it was everyone else who was dragging me down... My own parents Max, at the hospital, I told them everything about me and you, and they said they didn't want anything to do with me anymore. They paid my hospital bills and left me all alone. You and God are all I have left Max..." Kate trailed off, her voice breaking, reliving the moments back in the hospital. It was so painful seeing her mother and father standing there and giving her the cold shoulder.

"I didn't know, Kate... I'm so sorry." Max replied.

"I saw him, you know."

"Who?"

"God." She revealed. "He came to me, and he told me that me and you were going to be fine. He said that in the end, everything will work out fine, even with my parents. And so far Max, I believe him. My life is slowly going back to normal, and I have you, and I'm finally happy. It was more than I could ever imagine." She continued to trail off, twisting her body so that she was looking up at Max. "I love you Max, and you have been so supportive and awesome... I just don't know what I'd be doing without you." She spoke, such clarity and sureness in her voice. And it was true, she felt as though Max was her everything, her rock, and her will to go on and live her life with being different.

The brunette grinned, a small smile pulling at the corners of her lips and she leaned down to kiss her girlfriend. "I love you too Kate."


	30. Love Is Strange

**Author's Note: Okay guys, I think it's safe to say this story has come to an end. Thanks for all the love, reviews, favs, follows, I appreciate it so much. Anyway, I'll see you guys at the bottom.**

* * *

Their apartment wasn't much, but that was okay, because it was just the two of them anyway. It was little and cheap, and everything Max and Kate could have dreamed of. After graduating at Blackwell Academy, they went on a celebratory date together, and that's where they took their relationship to the next level. Neither of them had any clue what they were doing, and Kate was a nervous and flustered mess, but they made it work. And both of them would have agreed that it was the best night of their lives. Anyway, after that, they began to look for a place to live together. They didn't have a lot of money, so they couldn't afford much.

But that's where they found the cheap little apartment, right outside Arcadia Bay. During the summer after graduation, Kate got a job working at the diner that she and Max loved so much, and got ready to enroll into art school. She was going to follow her dreams, and Max was there for her every single step of the way. Always being a supportive girlfriend and what not. And as for the brunette, she was making money as a freelance photographer, selling her photos and photographing different events and what not. Kate got her a brand new camera for her birthday, and that was the best gift she could have ever gotten.

It was mid august, the heat being unbearable in their tiny apartment, and Kate was cooking breakfast as Max rolled out of their tiny bed. They practically had to lay on top of each other if they wanted to share it. But of course, neither of the girls minded, in fact, they enjoyed the closeness. And neither of them minded that they had stayed in Arcadia Bay either. After all, that was the place they met, the place they fell in love, and to this day, they still went on picnics at the lighthouse every now and again because that was their place.

Warren still came by to visit, as well as Brooke, Stella, and Alyssa. They were all leaving for college soon though, and Max and Kate would be stuck here in Arcadia, going to school, photographing things, and just living their day to day life. But they didn't mind. They liked their little quiet life and date nights and what not. It was something very peaceful to them. Warren was actually going away for college though, because of how damn smart he was, and Max and Kate knew it would be a long time before they got to see him again.

When September came, Kate was always at school and Max was usually home alone, bored, or out and about Arcadia taking pictures. She had become more confident in her photography and began sending her pictures out to different contests. Most of the time, she won, and most of the time, she submitted pictures of Kate. And as for the blonde, she was enveloped in her artwork, concentrating on nothing but that. She used Max as a subject the majority of the time, and there was artwork, paintings, drawings all over their apartment.

October arrived in the blink of an eye, and Kate was getting a small two week break from school. And because of that, Max had decided to go to the pawn shop outside of Arcadia Bay and find a ring. Yes, she was going to propose to Kate. Hell, she didn't see why not. They were always together anyway, and Max was ready, and she knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Kate. She couldn't see herself with anyone else but Kate. So she picked out a gold vintage looking ring with pearls in it, and she knew Kate would love it. Of course, when she had the money later in life, she'd get Kate a proper engagement ring, but as of right now, this would have to suffice. They wouldn't get married until Kate was done with school anyway.

Max took Kate out, to the diner, and then they went to lighthouse. And to this very day, she still remembered the look on Kate's face when she had asked the blonde if she would marry her. She also snapped a few pictures of it and kept them around too. But she had cried and cried so much, and laughed, and smiled, and she loved her ring. And when she said yes, Max knew that she would remember that moment for the rest of her life. When the stars came out, they went back to their shabby apartment and made love to each other, just reveling in what the future would bring.

Love was often times a strange and funny thing. But now, now that Max had Kate, and Kate had Max, they knew for sure what they wanted in life. And it was each other. Never in a million years, especially after everything the two had been through did they think they would end up this happy. Despite Kate's struggles, and her parents and school, and all of that other crap, she came out a winner. And she was happy and successful, and so was Max. The two were just grateful for each other, and they wouldn't ever trade it for the world.

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**Author's Note: Wow you guys, holy crap. I did not anticipate this fanfic would get as much feedback as it did. I'm proud of it, and it went well! But this is where I'd like to end it, on a happy note, especially after everything poor lil Kate has been through. Anyway, be sure to check out my other fanfics, send me requests, and follow me on tumblr. My url is heidipoo-xox. Hopefully episode four will come out soon because I'm tired of waiting. Until next time, stay fabulous!**


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